'My soul hurts' - Brahim Diaz issues heartbroken statement after missing penalty in wild AFCON final defeat to Senegal as Morocco consider legal action over walk-off before spot-kick

In a competitive contest at The Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on Sunday, Senegal thought they had won the game in second-half stoppage time through Abdoulaye Seck, only for the goal to be ruled out by referee Jean-Jacques Ndala for a debatable foul in the build-up. Moments after that drama, Diaz won Morocco a soft penalty. Then, all hell broke loose. Senegal's furious head coach, Pape Thiaw, told his players to return to the dressing room in protest, leading to a lengthy delay. From Senegal's point of view, justice prevailed when Pape Gueye scored a brilliant winner in extra-time to secure Les Lions de la Teranga the AFCON crown. One day on from that pandemonium, Madrid man Diaz has opened up on a dramatic turn of events. 

Prior to this final, Diaz was arguably the player of the tournament. In this AFCON alone, the 26-year-old scored five goals in seven matches and was instrumental in Morocco's run to the final. But, this defeat was hard to take for him. He admitted he "failed", took full responsibility for his actions and apologised from the "bottom of my heart".

He wrote on Instagram: "My soul hurts. I dreamed of this title thanks to all the love you all gave me, every message, every show of support that made me feel I wasn’t alone. I fought with everything I had, with my heart above all else. Yesterday I failed and I take full responsibility. I apologize 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. Not for myself, but for everyone who believed in me and for everyone who suffered with me. I will keep going forward until one day I can give you all this love back and become a source of pride for my Moroccan people."

Despite former Liverpool star Sadio Mane playing a big part in getting his Senegal team-mates back on the pitch, the AFCON winners may face punishment for their course of action. On Monday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed disciplinary proceedings against Senegal after their walk-off delayed the final by 14 minutes. FIFA president Gianni Infantino also condemned the scenes as "unacceptable".

"We also witnessed unacceptable scenes on the field and in the stands - we strongly condemn the behaviour of some supporters as well as some Senegalese players and technical staff members," he said. "It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner, and equally, violence cannot be tolerated in our sport, it is simply not right."

Now, Morocco’s football federation has announced it will pursue legal action against the Senegalese.

Their statement reads: "The Royal Moroccan Football Federation announces that it will pursue legal action with the Confederation of African Football [Caf] and Fifa to rule on the walk-off of the Senegalese national team from the field during the final against the Moroccan national team, as well as on the events surrounding this decision, following the referee’s awarding of a penalty that was deemed correct by all experts. This situation had a significant impact on the normal course of the match and on the players’ performance."

After an exciting tournament up until the final, AFCON ended in acrimonious fashion, making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Following his country's defeat, Morocco coach Walid Regragui said Senegal's actions were "shameful" and did not "honour Africa". The fallout from this will go on for a while, with punishments likely to be handed out on a bad day for football.