Romain Saiss criticises Brahim Diaz for missed Morocco penalty in AFCON final

[p]During the final that was marred by controversy in the closing stages, the Atlas Lions were awarded a penalty with only two minutes of normal added time remaining.[/p][p][b]Though [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/senegal/hOIsJLJr/"]Senegal[/a] protested the decision, and threatened to abandon the final, they rescinded their boycott threats after being cooled down by Sadio Mane, and allowed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/morocco/IDKYO3R8/"]Morocco[/a] to take the penalty.[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/diaz-brahim/nm2Qvnyk/"]Diaz[/a], who was the star player for Morocco from tournament kick-off, through to the group stages, and up until the grand finale, having scored five goals from seven matches, stepped up to take the resultant kick.[/p][p][b]However, his attempted Panenka kick was easily saved by Edouard Mendy, taking the final into extra-time. Senegal capitalised on the situation, to score courtesy of Pape Gueye to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/morocco-IDKYO3R8/senegal-hOIsJLJr/?mid=0KhPZfnQ"]win the final 1-0[/a] and clinch their second African title, denying Morocco the chance to end their 50-year wait for the crown.[/b][/p][h2]Diaz could have been the hero[/h2][p][b]“At this level of competition, he can’t do it on purpose. Let’s not talk nonsense,”[/b] said the former Morocco captain as quoted by [i][b]Colinterview[/b][/i]. [b]“He could have been the hero, but he wanted to be the superhero. I feel bad for him because it tarnishes his AFCON a bit.[/b][/p][p]“I thought to myself, ‘He didn’t actually do that, did he?’ I immediately turned around, put my head in my hands, and thought, ‘He didn’t dare do that.’ You can miss a penalty in an AFCON final.[/p][embed guid="9c852f51-4d40-4bf4-9d13-8ab3b8facdf4" url="https://x.com/futbolarena/status/2029848572582101327" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]“It’s happened to us (...). It’s part of football. But when he did the Panenka, I said, ‘You can’t do that now.’ I’m smiling about it now, but at the time I wasn’t. It’s the last second.[/b][/p][p]“You haven’t won an AFCON for 50 years; you haven’t been in the final for 24 years.[/p][p]“You’re at home. I thought to myself, ‘Go ahead and put a screamer right down the middle. Thank you, goodbye, we lift the trophy, we go home.’ “Everyone is happy and we’ll have a party.”[/p][h2]‘I felt empty at the time’[/h2][p]He continued: [b]“I asked myself, ‘Was he aware of all this, of what was happening on the side?’ From that moment until today, I feel empty. I didn’t cry after that defeat.[/b][/p][p]“I didn’t have that anger where I lost my temper to externalise something and move on. I felt empty at the time. Since then, it’s been a shock.[/p][p]“Basically, it’s a bad nightmare, and I’ll wake up tomorrow to either the start of the final or the beginning of the AFCON.”[/p][embed guid="63c1589e-d110-4d65-96b7-3205ca8c6878" url="https://x.com/Kaypoisson1/status/2012998656027148514" social-type="twitter" /][p]Diaz later apologised for the missed opportunity on his social media pages: He wrote: [b]“I failed, and I take full responsibility and apologise with all my heart.[/b][/p][p][b]“It will be hard for me to recover because this wound does not heal easily, but I will try. Not for myself, but for all who believed in me and for all who suffered with me.”[/b][/p][p]A few weeks after the AFCON final, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/saiss-romain/zTScoVFH/"]Saiss[/a] announced his retirement from international football at the age of 34, bringing to an end a career that spanned more than a decade.[/p][p]Saiss earned 86 caps for Morocco and captained the side during one of the most successful periods in the nation’s football history, including their historic run to the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar - the first African team to reach that stage of the tournament.[/p][image alt="Dennis Mabuka" id="009ee08a-c012-41bf-bdae-acba9770ea19" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="24a23b7b-ebdb-4697-bc96-0fdef77e55e9" original-width="1200" original-height="381" /]