First Afcon, now World Cup - Senegal trapped in 'football hell'

Despite a season which saw him score 21 times in all competitions to help Palace lift the Uefa Conference League trophy, Sarr, more than most, will feel he has done something, somewhere, to offend the international sporting gods.

With the Afcon final against hosts Morocco locked at 0-0 at the start of second-half injury time, it was his headed 'goal' from a corner which was ruled out by referee Jean-Jacques Ndala, who had blown his whistle moments earlier for a foul.

It was a very soft decision and Senegal were aggrieved.

Minutes later, with virtually no time left on the clock, Morocco were handed the chance to doom Senegal, with Ndala going to the pitchside monitor following another corner, this time adjudging that Brahim Diaz had been unfairly hauled over by full-back El Hadji Malick Diouf.

The chaos which followed at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium has blown a giant hole in the image of African football.

While I frantically tried to type out my match report in the media tribune, head down, a BBC colleague repeatedly tapped me on the shoulder to point out things like rioting fans, injured stewards being carried across the pitch and Senegal players leaving it.

After a long delay, in which Sadio Mane was among those who coaxed the team back out of the dressing room, I was left with my jaw on the floor as Diaz missed his penalty in the 24th minute of added time, dinking it Panenka-style into the grateful arms of Edouard Mendy.

Senegal went on to win the game 1-0 in extra time, only to see a Confederation of African Football appeal board strip them of the title two months later. The case is currently with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with Senegal having vowed a "crusade" to overturn the decision.

Just like in Rabat, the award of Belgium's decisive penalty was once again contentious, with Honduran referee Said Martinez agreeing with the VAR that Lamine Camara's sliding challenge caught the back of Tielemans' heel and prevented the midfielder playing the ball.

Senegal's players protested vociferously, but Fifa has tightened its regulations to prevent a repeat of the Afcon final walk-off.

"Our interpretation was that there was no penalty," Thiaw said. "You have to accept, even if it's difficult."

Not everyone has responded so calmly to the disastrous defeat.

Midfielder Pape Gueye, the man who scored Senegal's Afcon final 'winning' goal, has announced he is "taking a break" from international football until Thiaw and his coaching staff are relieved of their duties.

The Villarreal midfielder, recently voted the best African player in Spain's La Liga, was taken off in the 66th minute against Belgium.

"The midfield was doing well, so why did he change it?" said one heartbroken fan in Dakar.

"I simply don't understand Thiaw's tactical choices," said another, who also criticised the decision to withdraw Everton forward Iliman Ndiaye.

"It's not easy to lose this kind of match," Thiaw said. "Unfortunately, it slipped away from us, but it's football."

From Afcon hero to World Cup fall guy in the space of a few short months - Thiaw knows better than most how football can be a devilishly cruel mistress.