Thierry Henry is a legendary footballer
Football legend Thierry Henry has said that the officiating in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final contributed to the chaotic scenes at the stadium.
According to him, he has been watching the tournament for quite some time, and poor officiating decisions often trigger players and fans to react in controversial ways.
The Arsenal legend indicated that the decision to rule out Ismaila Sarr’s goal and later award Brahim Díaz a last-minute penalty angered the Teranga Lions players, prompting them to stage a walk-off.
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“Do I understand the frustration of how it happened in the final? What happened just before and then the penalty, they thought, in their eyes, that that was a goal scored by Ismaila Sarr. And then after, the penalty goes on… Brahim Díaz changed the AFCON for a very long time.”
“The referees are not at the level of the show. All the stuff that happened in those tournaments sometimes is caused by referee mistakes. And I’m not blaming the referee, I’m blaming the people that are not training them to be at the level of the football we’re watching,” he said on CBS Sports Golazo.
However, Henry condemned the Senegalese players’ attempt to boycott the match, which he believes did not show sportsmanship.
“Senegal wanting to leave the field was wrong. That’s not the image you want to give, not only for African football, but for any football. You don’t want to do that.”
The 2025 AFCON final was characterized by controversies, and CAF has suspended Senegalese head coach Pape Thiaw while full investigations are ongoing to bring the culprits to book.
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@cbssportsgolazo Thierry Henry talks controversial refereeing decisions at the 2025 AFCON 🗣️ #AFCON #referees #thieryhenry ♬ original sound – CBS Sports Golazo
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Meanwhile, watch as Ghanaians celebrate Senegal’s AFCON triumph
