Senegal broke Moroccan hearts in incredible circumstances in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Rabat on Sunday.
But those bare facts only tell part of a remarkable story laced with controversy during the closing minutes of regulation time.
Tensions were already high, with Senegal furious over having a goal contentiously disallowed early in stoppage time for a foul on Achraf Hakim by Abdoulaye Seck before Ismaila Sarr converted from close range.
Those emotions spilt over when the tournament's top scorer, Brahim Diaz, won a penalty for Morocco. A VAR review concluded that El Hadji Malick Diouf had fouled the Real Madrid forward, although it was a soft call in the extreme.
There were then over 15 minutes between the award of the penalty and Diaz's kick being saved by Edouard Mendy. This was largely on account of Senegal boss Pape Thiaw calling his players off the field. Star forward Sadio Mane appeared to be a key figure in persuading his teammates to continue with the match.
For better or worse, it was a moment of football history that will be discussed for decades.
MORE: AFCON final descends into farce as Senegal leave field in protest over Morocco penalty
Did Brahim Diaz miss the penalty on purpose?
One theory doing the rounds online afterwards was that Diaz missed the penalty deliberately as a sort of placatory measure to persuade Senegal to continue with the game.
Players electing not to score a penalty after an obviously incorrect call is not entirely without precedent in football history.
Take the example below of Denmark player Morten Wieghorst, who slotted a penalty wide on purpose during a friendly match with Iran after opposition defender Alireza Nikbakht Vahedi picked up the ball in his area, thinking the referee had blown for halftime.
However, with due respect to the Carlsberg Cup, the stakes in an AFCON final were somewhat higher, with Morocco seeking their first title since 1976. The theory that Diaz missed intentionally also neglects the fact he appealed vociferously and continuously to be awarded a penalty in the first place.
Also, if he wanted to miss on purpose, why risk chipping the penalty on target? In reality, the former AC Milan player decided on a risky strategy for a high-pressure kick and got it badly wrong, as evidenced by how devastated he looked afterwards.
How Senegal, Morocco reacted to Brahim Diaz penalty miss
A key aspect that added to the conspiratorial talk surrounding Diaz's botched penalty was the relative lack of reaction from the other players. None of Mendy's Senegal teammates ran to mob the keeper as you might expect, and the initial response from Morocco's players was also quite muted.
On the other hand, you wouldn't expect players to spend more than 15 minutes waiting for a penalty to be taken, during which time some of them and their coach appeared to be trying to get the match abandoned, necessarily to be thinking about what they were doing at all. Basically, it's a bit much to expect normal behaviour in the circumstances.
Additionally, Mendy — who was booked by the referee for coming off his line to confront Diaz on more than one occasion before the kick was taken — spoke about the incident and dismissed any notion of a carve-up with the Morocco star.
"No, of course [we didn't agree for him to miss]. We have to be serious," the former Chelsea goalkeeper told reporters.
"Do you really think that in one minute with a country that has been waiting 50 years for a title, we can reach an agreement? He wanted to score and I deserve credit for stopping him — that's all.
"What did we say to each other? That's between us. We did it together and we came back together, that's all that matters. We can be proud tonight."
MORE: Who has won the most AFCON titles? Full list of all-time Africa Cup of Nations champions
Brahim Diaz penalty record
All of Diaz's penalties in senior football have come for Morocco. Sunday's attempt was his first miss after two successes — in a 2-0 World Cup qualification win over Tanzania last March and versus Mali in the group stage at the AFCON.
He scored three out of three in UEFA Youth League and Premier League 2 play for Manchester City but missed for Spain Under-19s in a European Championship qualifier against Belgium in 2018.
Diaz has a Moroccan father and switched allegiance to the North African country in 2024.
What is a 'Panenka'?
The style of penalty Diaz took is known as a Panenka and takes its name from Antonin Panenka, the former Czechoslovakia midfielder who famously chipped a spot-kick down the middle to sink West Germany in a shootout to decide the winner of the 1976 European Championship.
Zinedine Zidane scored a Panenka for France in the 2006 World Cup final and there are several famous examples of the technique being expertly executed or embarrassingly missed. Interestingly, Mendy saved a Panenka from Sergio Aguero for Chelsea against Manchester City in May 2021.
It might be a while until a player tries it on the biggest stage again after Diaz's moment to forget.