Brahim Díaz is mistreated and accused of purposefully avoiding punishment

After missing a key penalty during Morocco’s 1-0 loss to Senegal in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, Real Madrid forward Brahim Díaz has received harsh criticism on social media.

After the referee determined that Achraf Hakimi had committed a foul before the cross that resulted in the goal, Ismaila Sarr’s goal was disallowed.

In the last minutes of extra time, a Senegalese defender took down Brahim Díaz in the area, giving the host country a penalty in a spectacular turn of events.

Despite the dispute, Díaz missed the penalty because Édouard Mendy easily saved his Panenka attempt, forcing extra time.

Pape Gueye secured the victory early in the first half of extra time with a strong strike from the box’s edge into the top corner.

Following the match, angry Moroccan fans swarmed Díaz’s social media profiles to attack him for his unconventional penalty attempt, subjecting him to online harassment.

Some supporters even asserted that the Moroccan attacker, who had scored five goals in the tournament, purposefully missed the penalty kick in order to protect the competition’s legitimacy because the Senegalese fiercely contested it.

They contended that a player of his calibre would not make such a mistake in a game of that calibre and that his handling of the penalty was not the finest.

These charges, however, are still just that—allegations stemming from the frustration of losing to the West Africans in the final after more than 50 years without winning the title.

Others praised the goalie for the save and supported the player, claiming that the player never intended to miss the penalty on purpose.

Walid Regragui, the head coach of Morocco, defended Díaz’s penalty kick, stating that the team completely supports him and does not hold him accountable for the miss because they see it as a natural part of the game.

Read the comments below:

Other  stories

• Maths Marathon: Headmistress Praises Student Efforts in Cape Coast Guinness World Record Attempt

• Within the first year, the Mahama administration pays US$1.470 billion to settle debt in the energy sector and reinstate the World Bank guarantee.

• Professor Frimpong-Boateng responds to the NPP by saying, “To hell with them.”

• Asantehene is praised by IGP as the “King Solomon of our time” for his efforts to promote peace.

• Nana Amoah kwedwo ll Mawerehene of Atwesine sworn into office as the country head (Ghana) for international youth network for United Nations security council