Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique has said Brahim Díaz is “neither an assassin nor a bad person” after his failure to convert a penalty in Morocco’s Africa Cup of Nations final defeat to Senegal.
Díaz’s penalty would have secured the AFCON for Morocco but after being made to wait 17 minutes to take it by Senegal’s protests at the decision, the Real Madrid attacker inexplicably chipped the ball into goalkeeper Édouard Mendy’s arms.
While conceding that Díaz’s panenka-style penalty in stoppage-time was “bizarre,” Luis Enrique said in Monday’s PSG news conference: “I can understand it’s hard to accept and it was a bizarre thing to do.
“Everyone can see that. But this is a sport, nothing else. Nothing happens whether your win or lose … The important thing is the value that you can give to young people, without exaggerating. He is neither an assassin nor a bad person. You have to respect how difficult it is to be a young player. It’s a difficult time. There’s a lot of pressure.”
After Díaz’s failed attempt, Pape Gueye’s extra-time goal gave Senegal a 1-0 win on Sunday in Morocco’s capital city, Rabat.
Luis Enrique said he spoke to his players about Díaz’s penalty but added that the Real Madrid winger is not the first player to have attempted a panenka penalty on a big stage.
“I remember [France’s Zinedine] Zidane, who is a football God, did a panenka during a World Cup [2006 final against Italy],” he said.
“I also remember Sergio Ramos who took a Panenka during a very important game [Euro 2012 game against Portugal]. Lots of players have done it. When you score that type of penalty, nobody says anything and everybody applauds. But when you miss, there are lots of negative opinions about that player, and he is a magnificent player.”
Luis Enrique added that he feels bad for Díaz, a player he knows well.
Díaz, who played for Spain’s youth teams, was handed his Spain debut by Luis Enrique in a friendly against Lithuania in 2021 before he decided to represent Morocco.
“He is an exceptional player and a very good person,” Luis Enrique said. “It’s very unfair to see that.”
Former Real Madrid and Spain captain Ramos also expressed his support for Díaz, writing: “Keep your head held high, brother. Football always offers a chance for revenge, and you’ve given us so much more than what slipped away today…”
Díaz, meanwhile, apologised for not scoring and helping Morocco end their 50-year wait for an AFCON title.
His five goals in the tournament earned Díaz the Golden Boot.
Díaz wrote on Instagram: “Thanks to all the love you’ve given 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 [Sunday] I failed, and I take full responsibility and apologize from the bottom of my heart. It will be hard 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 until one day I can repay all this love and be a source of pride for my Moroccan people.”-ESPN
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