Sadio Mané, the instigator of the return of the Senegalese players to the pitch for the final of the 2025 AFCON, was thanked by the entire refereeing body, as shown in a sequence broadcast by beIN Sports.

He will forever remain the Senegalese hero of this 2025 AFCON final. On Sunday, when the Senegalese players had decided to return to the locker room to protest against the penalty awarded to Morocco at the end of added time, Sadio Mané played a key role in bringing his teammates back onto the pitch.

Without the intervention of the Al-Nassr striker, the Lions of Teranga would not have been able to lift the trophy after a thrilling extra time. A crucial save for his team… but also for the officiating crew, who would undoubtedly have been plunged into an unprecedented storm had the final not been completed.

"How did you do it? You're a captain!"

As shown in footage broadcast by beIN Sports, the referees warmly thanked the former Liverpool star after the final whistle. "You were the only person to tell the others to come back," Paul Abongile, the fourth official in this Senegal-Morocco match, initially told him.

Later, the South African official doubled down when Mané came to greet the rest of the refereeing team. "I told him that he was the only one who acted! The only one!", insists Paul Abongile.

"How did you do that? You're a captain!" continued Jean-Jacques Ndala, the head referee. "That's great, thank you. As I told you last time, thank you for what you did," concluded the VAR assistant to Sadio Mané.

😳 Sadio Mané was sent off by the referees after the AFCON final! 🤝🇸🇳

👀 We're recapping everything that happened between Senegal and Morocco in the new episode of #CANExtra with @RedaMrabit@hmzrhmn @thiam_brahim and @truilletgui pic.twitter.com/rlaue3pmzS

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During this dramatic final, the Senegalese player decided to go and find his teammates on the advice of Claude Leroy, former coach of the African champions. "He came to me and said, 'What would you do?' I replied, 'Well, I'd go and get my friends and resume the match,'" the "White Wizard" told Le Parisien. "Sadio was very hesitant, wondering what to do. I told him it wasn't possible to end like that."