An African star has revealed how Senegal superstar Sadio Mane called him to apologise for a dangerous tackle he made during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The 2023 AFCON certainly lived up to its billing, and is now widely considered the best edition of the tournament in recent memory.
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The competition in the Ivory Coast has received extensive praise for its unpredictable results, with giant killings at the hands of minnows being a recurring theme throughout the showpiece.
Among the things the event was commended for was the officiating, including the use of VAR, with former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho even commenting that European officials could learn a thing or two from their African counterparts.
However, there was one decision that caused a huge stir among fans.
During a round of 16 clash between hosts Ivory Coast and Senegal, Mane made a lunging tackle on Elephants midfielder Ibrahim Sangare, which led to the Ivorian being stretchered off the pitch in agony.
Sadio Mane only received a yellow for this tackle on Ivory Coast Ibrahim Sangaré
— Olawale Ayeni ???????? (@VjWale) January 29, 2024
Red card offence or Not ? pic.twitter.com/SqzZWvjSft
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To everyone's surprise, though, Mane received only a yellow card for the dangerous challenge despite going over the ball and catching Sangare on his ankle.
The Nottingham Forest star has now revealed that the Al Nassr talisman later reached out to him to apologise for the tackle.
"After the match, Sadio Mane visited me and apologised at length for his mistake. We exchanged our jerseys," Sangare said, according to Afrik-Foot.
"Before going to bed, Sadio Mane even made a video call to see how I was doing and asked me to show him my foot."
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