The 33-year-old discussed his decision to order his teammates back onto the pitch following an initial walkout during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final against Morocco.
The match took a dramatic turn late in the game when the referee awarded a 94th-minute penalty to Morocco. While defending a corner kick, El Hadji Malick Diouf appeared to drag Brahim Diaz to the ground inside the Senegalese box. The incident initially went unnoticed by the match officials until the video assistant referee intervened.
After the review, the referee pointed to the spot, sparking chaos. Senegalese players and officials protested, claiming an earlier goal by their team should have counted. This led to scuffles and heated exchanges in parts of the stadium.
Pape Thiaw, Senegal’s head coach, ordered his players off the pitch and into the dugout, putting the game on hold for nearly 20 minutes.
Sadio Mane then stepped in, urging his teammates to return to the field. The team eventually resumed play just in time to prevent the referee from declaring a forfeiture.
Diaz’s controversial last-minute penalty was saved by Edouard Mendy. The game continued into extra time, where Pape Gueye scored a thunderous goal to secure Senegal’s second AFCON title.
After the match, Mane said the walkout “would be the worst thing, especially in African football.”
He stressed that referees’ mistakes should not stop a game, adding that “we have to give a good image for football.”
“Football is something special, the world was watching, the world loves football and I think football is a pleasure so we have to give a good image for football,” Mane said.
“I think it would be crazy to not play this game because what, the referee gave a penalty and we go out of the game? I think that would be the worst thing especially in African football. I’d rather lose than this kind of thing happen to our football. I think it’s really bad.
“Football should not stop for even ten minutes but what can we do? We have to accept that we did but the good thing is that we came back and we played the game and what happened happened.”
Mane was named player of the tournament, Diaz won the golden boot as the top scorer with five goals, and Yachine Bounou claimed the best goalkeeper award.