The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations was an extraordinary tournament on the whole. The tournaments goalscoring record was broken, newcomers dazzled in their debuts at the continental showpiece, teams snapped losing streaks and set winning ones.
However, the tournaments image both on the continent and globally was brought into disrepute after the events of the final at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on Sunday.
The chaos began to brew in the third minute of stoppage time towards the end of the second half. With the score at 00, Abdoulaye Secks header from close range beat Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou but rebounded off the bar into the path of Ismala Sarr, who put the ball in the back of the net.
