'You’ve killed us, you’re corrupt!' - Krepin Diatta explodes with rage after Senegal's AFCON defeat to Ivory Coast as Monaco star blasts 'ridiculous' VAR decisions

The defending champions were sent packing by the hosts at the Round of 16 stage of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, despite taking the lead through Habib Diallo. Franck Kessie scored the equaliser from the penalty spot, following a lengthy VAR check that saw former Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy bring down Nicolas Pepe inside the box. The Elephants held their nerves in the shootout to win 5-4, with Kessie scoring the winning penalty.

Monaco star Diatta believes that the match would not have gone to a shootout if Senegal were awarded a penalty within regulation time. Odilon Kossounou seemed to have fouled Ismaila Sarr inside the box but the referee decided against pointing to the spot, with the VAR team not calling him over to review the incident via the pitch-side monitor, which left Diatta raging.

While passing through the mixed zone, Diatta told reporters: "You’ve killed us, you’re corrupt! Keep your African Cup! You go and consult VAR to give them a penalty, but a guy (Sarr) runs 40 metres, overlaps, breaks into the box and you can’t go and look at the VAR. I’m sorry, but it’s ridiculous. I’m really sorry, but they’ve killed our competition there."

Ivory Coast sacked their manager Jean-Louis Gasset after their 4-0 defeat against Equatorial Guinea in the group stage. They appointed former Premier League star Emerse Fae as interim boss to lead them to AFCON glory. Fae made 11 appearances for Reading in the English top flight back in the 2007-08 season.

After causing a major upset on Monday evening, the Ivory Coast will meet the winners of the match between Mali and Burkina Faso in the AFCON quarter-finals on February 3 at Stade de la Paix in Bouake.