{"id":420926,"date":"2026-01-21T14:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T14:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/420926\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T14:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T14:20:08","slug":"thierry-henry-blames-referee-mistakes-for-chaotic-final-in-rabat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/420926\/","title":{"rendered":"Thierry Henry blames referee mistakes for chaotic final in Rabat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Thierry <\/a>Thierry Henry is a legendary footballer<\/p>\n

Football legend Thierry Henry has said that the officiating in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final contributed to the chaotic scenes at the stadium.<\/p>\n

According to him, he has been watching the tournament for quite some time, and poor officiating decisions often trigger players and fans to react in controversial ways.<\/p>\n

The Arsenal legend indicated that the decision to rule out Ismaila Sarr\u2019s goal and later award Brahim D\u00edaz a last-minute penalty angered the Teranga Lions players, prompting them to stage a walk-off.<\/p>\n

Man\u00e9, Gueye, Mendy: Meet the masterminds behind Senegal\u2019s AFCON success<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDo I understand the frustration of how it happened in the final? What happened just before and then the penalty, they thought, in their eyes, that that was a goal scored by Ismaila Sarr. And then after, the penalty goes on\u2026 Brahim D\u00edaz changed the AFCON for a very long time.”<\/p>\n

“The referees are not at the level of the show. All the stuff that happened in those tournaments sometimes is caused by referee mistakes. And I\u2019m not blaming the referee, I\u2019m blaming the people that are not training them to be at the level of the football we\u2019re watching,\u201d he said on CBS Sports Golazo.<\/p>\n

However, Henry condemned the Senegalese players\u2019 attempt to boycott the match, which he believes did not show sportsmanship.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenegal wanting to leave the field was wrong. That\u2019s not the image you want to give, not only for African football, but for any football. You don\u2019t want to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2025 AFCON final was characterized by controversies, and CAF has suspended Senegalese head coach Pape Thiaw while full investigations are ongoing to bring the culprits to book.<\/p>\n

Read the comment below:<\/p>\n

@cbssportsgolazo<\/a> Thierry Henry talks controversial refereeing decisions at the 2025 AFCON \ud83d\udde3\ufe0f #AFCON<\/a> #referees<\/a> #thieryhenry<\/a> \u266c original sound – CBS Sports Golazo<\/a> <\/p>\n

SB\/JE<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, watch as Ghanaians celebrate Senegal’s AFCON triumph<\/p>\n<\/p>\n