Sadio Mané called his team back for Senegal's win over host Morocco in chaotic Africa Cup final
Rabat (Morocco) (AP): Though he didn't score a goal, Sadio Mané has emerged as the hero for Senegal's unlikely triumph over host Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final.
"We knew that today it was important to win this trophy. We all had it in our hearts to win it thanks to Sadio, and we saw what he did today, it's just incredible," Lamine Camara said.
The game was on the verge of being called off with furious Senegalese supporters trying to storm the field after a controversial penalty call in favour of the home team deep in stoppage time on Sunday, just minutes after Senegal had what seemed a perfectly good goal ruled out at the other end.
Stewards were fighting with supporters on the field and some of the Senegal players reacted angrily to comments from the Moroccan substitutes, leading to a melee between rival players on the sideline.
Senegal coach Pape Thiaw then led his players off, suggesting the game might be called off before the penalty could be taken. Fighting was continuing at the other end where a long line of police joined the stewards in holding the Senegal fans back.
Veteran French coach Claude Le Roy, who spoke with Mané on the sideline, reportedly told the two-time African Footballer of the Year it was better for the team to resume the game.
Mané evidently agreed as he got his teammates to return for Morocco's penalty so the game could resume after a 14-minute delay.
"We were in the locker room," Camara said.
"He was the only one who came in shouting, shouting at us to get out there and finish the match. And well, in the end, he was right. We went out, we listened to him because if Sadio talks, everyone listens. We listened to him and in the end it went well for us."
Édouard Mendy, the Senegal goalkeeper, easily saved Brahim Díaz's weak attempt of a penalty with what was the last kick of the game.
It then went to extra time, where Pape Gueye scored the winner in the fourth minute by letting fly inside the top right corner.
"What we felt was a bit of injustice," Gueye said.
"Before, we thought we should have had a goal and the referee didn't go to VAR. Sadio told us to come back on and we remobilized. Édouard then made the save, we stayed focused, got the goal and won the game."
Senegal had gone closer to scoring in the game with Mané a constant menace for the Moroccan defense, setting up chances for teammates. It took three defenders to stop Mané early on, and more to stop his progress before the half time break.
It was up to Mané to lead the side again in the absence of suspended captain Kalidou Koulibaly, who was missing his second final after the defeat to Algeria in the 2019 decider.
The 33-year-old Mané had said after scoring the winner in the semifinal against Egypt that this would be his last Africa Cup tournament. He has played six and now won two. Thiaw has already appealed for him to reverse his decision.
Few fans remained in the 69,500-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium to see Mané lift the trophy, but the small band of Senegal supporters could celebrate, while it also kicked off a jubilant party in Dakar.
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Death toll due to fire in shopping mall in Pak’s Karachi rises to 14
Karachi (PTI): The death toll from a horrific fire in an old shopping mall in Pakistan’s Karachi has risen to 14 after rescue teams found eight more bodies from the building rubble.
The fire, which broke out on Saturday night at the Gul Plaza, a wholesale and retail market which had shops in the basement, mezzanine and three more floors, was brought under control by Sunday night.
Six bodies were found immediately after the fire broke out. They had died due to suffocation while dozens of injured were sent to hospitals. However, as the fire spread, rescue teams were unable to go in.
“Once the fire was doused, we didn’t wait for the cooling period and forcibly went in to rescue trapped people and we found eight more bodies, some badly charred,” Rescue 1122 Chief Operating Officer (COO) Abid Jalal said.
He told PTI on Monday morning that the fire had almost completely damaged the building with one back and one front portion collapsing because of weak pillars.
“The building structure has been weakened by the fire and we are still continuing to search for any remaining people because we could see more structural collapses,” Jalal said.
The market, which had around 1200 shops on all floors, has been one of Karachi’s landmarks since the early 1980s on the main M A Jinnah Road in the Saddar commercial area.
Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, who came to the site this morning, told the media that 70 people were still trapped inside the building.
“We are extremely concerned and alarmed. Efforts are going on to find them but this is a national tragedy,” Tessori said.
South DIG Syed Asad Raza told the media that the casualties could increase because there was still a lot more space to be covered to find survivors.
He said an electrical short circuit might have caused the fire but said the cause has yet to be confirmed.
Gul Plaza is not the first shopping mall to catch fire in Karachi as in recent years there have been several incidents due to lack of safety and inadequate fire fighting systems and overloaded electrical systems and illegal constructions in Pakistan’s biggest city.
In 2024, a government audit found that in 266 shopping malls and commercial buildings located on major roads, only six had proper fire safety measures with 62 per cent lacking emergency exits and 70 per cent having substandard electrical systems.
In December 2024, in an adjacent building to Gul Plaza, also built in the early 1980s, fire broke out on two floors but was quickly brought under control.
In 2012, at least 259 people were killed when a fire broke out in a garment factory in Baldia town.
