Morocco winger Brahim Diaz received no sympathy from AFCON specialist Herve Renard
Former Morocco coach Herve Renard has accused Brahim Diaz of displaying a “lack of respect for an entire country” following his Panenka penalty miss in the dying seconds of the Africa Cup of Nations final on Sunday evening.
Real Madrid winger Diaz had the chance to win the trophy and end Morocco’s 50-year wait to be crowned continental champions when he stood over the spot-kick in injury-time against Senegal, although that only tells half the story on a chaotic night in Rabat.
Diaz had won the penalty after being dragged down in the area by defender El Hadji Malick Diouf, the incident coming minutes after Senegal had had a seemingly good goal disallowed.
The Lions of Teranga were furious and, under instruction from coach Pape Thiaw, left the field in protest. When they returned 17 minutes later, Diaz was left with the final kick of the game. Unbelievably he tried a Panenka but only succeeded in chipping the ball tamely into the arms of Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Senegal won the game 1-0 in extra-time thanks to a wonderful strike from Pape Gueye.
I have no compassion – Renard blasts Morocco’s Diaz
“Brahim Díaz’s Panenka penalty? You have the right to miss a penalty, but in that case I am categorical and have no compassion. It is a lack of respect for an entire country and a whole people that has been looking for success for 50 years,” said Renard, who won the AFCON with Zambia in 2012 and Ivory Coast in 2015.
The current boss of Saudi Arabia added in The Parisian: “To a lesser extent, I experienced the same thing at the Arab Cup against Morocco. One of my players, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, missed his Panenka. I asked him to accompany me to the press conference and apologise.”
Diaz apologises
Diaz has also apologised, taking to social media yesterday and saying: “My soul hurts. I dreamed of this title, I failed and I take full responsibility.
“I apologise from the bottom of my heart. It will be hard for me to recover, because this wound doesn’t heal easily – but I will try.”
Diaz will return to Real Madrid this week and look to focus on club matters.
