Soccer Football - CAF Africa Cup of Nations - Morocco 2025 - Final - Senegal Press Conference - Main Media Centre, Rabat, Morocco - January 17, 2026 Senegal's Moussa Niakhate and coach Pape Thiaw are pictured with the match ball during the press conference REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
RABAT, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Tensions mounted on the eve of the Africa Cup of Nations final as Senegal's coach Pape Bouna Thiaw criticised a lack of security for his players when they arrived in Rabat ahead of Sunday’s decider and were mobbed at the city’s train station.
The players had no security escort as they got off the train after a 90-minute trip on Friday from Tangier, where they had been based through their first six games of the tournament.
His remarks at the pre-match press conference on Saturday prompted one local journalist to try to defend Morocco’s organisers, drawing howls of protest from Senegalese counterparts.
Earlier on Saturday, the Senegal Football Federation issued a statement condemning not only the lack of security on arrival in Rabat but also the standard of their accommodation and training facilities ahead of the final against the host nation.
"Today, Africa's image is at stake. Our competition, which no one used to watch, is now very prestigious. We mustn't squander that,” Thiaw said on Saturday.
"So far, the organisation has been excellent, and a big thank you to Morocco. But we all witnessed what happened yesterday.
"A well-organised event needs to be properly finished; it's important. What happened yesterday was unacceptable. A team like Senegal, getting off the train, is left facing a crowd like that; the players were in danger,” he added.
The Confederation of African Football did not immediately respond when approached for comment.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Rabat; Editing by Clare Fallon)
