Khaberni - Former French coach Claude Loroa revealed details of the conversation between him and Sadio Mane, the star of the Senegal national team, at the time his team decided to withdraw from the Africa Cup of Nations final against Morocco.
The final of the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations witnessed controversial events as the coach and players of Senegal decided to withdraw from the match in protest against the decision by the Congolese referee Jean Jacques Ndala to award a penalty kick to the “Atlas Lions” in the final moments of the match, when the score was a goalless draw.
Despite Mane's objection to this step, his teammates and coach insisted on their decision, before they returned to the field to resume the match.
Loroa reveals his advice to Mane before Senegal's return
Loroa, who previously coached Senegal between 1988-1992 and who was present at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat as a technical analyst for a channel, confirmed that he advised Mane to return to the field and resume the match.
Loroa (77 years old) said: "Sadio came to me and asked me what I would have done if I were in his place, I simply told him if I were you, I would ask my teammates to return to the field".
Indeed, Mane took the advice of the experienced African football coach, and convinced his teammates to return to the field and then his teammate Edouard Mendy blocked the penalty kick taken by Ibrahim Diaz in the Panenka style, and later the Senegal national team won the title after a 1-0 victory with a goal scored by Pape Gueye at the beginning of the first extra half.
Mane's behavior in the final
Mane revealed during an interview with “BeIN Sports” his stance on the withdrawal decision and the behind-the-scenes of his teammates' return to the field.
He said "The strange thing is that the team, the coach, and everyone decided to withdraw and not complete the match, the team decided to leave the field and frankly, I didn’t understand that."
He added "I took advice from some people around me who said you must continue the match and tell everyone to return, and that’s what I did."
Mane continued "I went and told the coach we couldn’t do that, it doesn’t matter what happens, we must play and that’s what we did in the end, and we were lucky."
Mane concluded on this matter "I think it’s crazy to stop the match like this because the world is watching us."
Is Mane retiring?
When asked whether the final against Morocco was his last with the Senegal national team, Mane answered "I will try to play in the World Cup and then I will stop."
Mane has played in 124 international matches for Senegal, scoring 52 goals and providing 28 decisive assists according to the data from the well-known "Transfermarkt" website.
Mane has been crowned with the Senegal national team with two titles in the 2021 and 2025 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.
