On Sunday, global football fans witnessed an unusual spectacle in Rabat, the Moroccan capital.

Two of the African continent's football giants, Morocco and Senegal, competed for the title of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in rainy conditions, which the Lions of Teranga ultimately clinched with a score of 1-0.

However, Senegal had to remain vigilant about one crucial item: towels.

Throughout the game, Moroccan ball boys, and in some cases, players or officials, repeatedly tried to snatch, remove, or throw away Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy’s towels from behind his goal.

Slippery conditions due to heavy rain led Mendy to use towels for a better grip. However, Moroccan had other ideas and were trying to deny him the towels in a bizarre show. This was not a one-off incident; it occurred multiple times.

On one occasion, it involved dragging Senegal's backup goalkeeper, Yehvann Diouf, across the pitch as he attempted to safeguard and return the towels to Mendy.

Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi was also seen tossing one of the towels over advertising boards, only for Senegalese player El Hadji Malick Diouf to retrieve it.

Senegal players (including Yehvann Diouf and others) had to actively defend the towels to prevent disruption, turning it into a chaotic outside-the-turf "battle."

Diouf, at one point, had to fend off Moroccan winger Ismail Saibari, who stood between him and Mendy as he was trying to hand him the towel.

'Use my towels to wipe your tears'

This tactic appeared recurrent.

Morocco's semi-final against Nigeria also saw their goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali face identical towel removal issues.

Nwabali repeatedly returned to the Super Eagles' bench for fresh towels, as the ones he had were being taken.

But Nwabali ultimately had the last laugh.

"Use all my towels to wipe your tears," he quipped on social media in Pidgin English, after the Atlas Lions lost the final.

'Maybe people read something into those towels'

The towel snatching was not the only incident that marred the game.

The AFCON final has become a viral talking point due to other controversial and dramatic scenes.

During the match Senegal players walked off the pitch for roughly 15 minutes, and fans clashed with security over a disallowed goal for Senegal and an awarded penalty for Morocco.

Following the match, Diouf expressed confusion over the Moroccan team's focus on the towels, suggesting they might have been misinterpreting their purpose.

"Maybe people read something into those towels, but in any case they were only used to dry the gloves and the face when it's raining," he told reporters after the match.

"I was just as surprised as you were, but like the team as a whole, we stuck together, and Edouard was able to get the towels he needed."

Diouf later joked about the entire episode, sharing an Instagram story showcasing the medal and towel, captioning it: "There she is (the medal and the towel)."

Some reports have framed it as gamesmanship or superstition-related interference, with wild fan theories about "black magic" towels.

Senegal ultimately won with a stunning long-range strike from Pape Gueye in extra time, but the match has been dubbed the "weirdest," "craziest," or "most chaotic" final in AFCON and possibly football history.