The 14 mintue delay and Senegal players walking off the pitch after concedeing a late penalty was not the only bizzare incident in the AFCON final between Senegal and Morocco last night. In another peculiar incident, Senegal’s second goalkeeper spent long spells of Sunday’s match protecting the towels used by starting keeper Edouard Mendy from repeated attempts by ball boys to snatch them.
Diouf was an unlikely hero without every playing the final.
Senegalese fans praised Diouf’s efforts and some even went on to compare his effort as crucial as the extra-time winning goal scored by Pape Gueye.
WATCH: Senegal’s backup goalkeeper Yéhvann Diouf fighting with ball boys
The guy they’re dragging plays for Nice in France if I’m not mistaken. A Top tier goalkeeper, Yehvann Diouf.
Ball boys are dragging a professional player on the floor. Ball boys? What power do they have?
Look at Saibari too, a champions league player, this is beyond… https://t.co/FEgu9UEpP9 pic.twitter.com/xx7yWtSel9
— TobyWrites (@tobyasky) January 19, 2026
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In now a viral video on X and other social media platforms, Diouf can be seen fighting off assaults from the ball boys alongside the touchline. At one point, he was chased by the ball boys. Some videos show him lying flat on the pitch shielding one of the towers while some ball boys are dragging him towards the touchline.
Apart from the ballboys, the Morocco players were also involved. In one footage, Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi can be seen throwing one of Mendy’s towels over advertising boards. At another moment Morocco midfielder Ismaël Saibari tried to prevent Diouf from handing a towel to Mendy.
Goalkeepers often keep towels close to them to wipe themselves and their gloves, especially in wet conditions such as those during Sunday’s final in Rabat.
Some Senegal fans also pointed out that the same happened with Nigeria when the towels placed by the Nigerian goalkeeper were taken away by the stadium staff.
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Talking to the repoters after the match, Diouf said,“Maybe people read something into those towels, but in any case they were only used to dry the gloves and the face when it’s raining. I was just as surprised as you were, but like the team as a whole, we stuck together, and Edouard was able to get the towels he needed.”
Diouf made light of the situation, later posting a picture of him biting on his medal and holding a towel, with the caption: “Here it is (the medal and the towel).
Senegal defeated hosts Morocco in a highly tensed final winning their second AFCON title.
