Koulibaly Rues AFCON Final Suspension

By Max Wise

Highly coveted Senegal defender, Kalidou Koulibaly, has bemoaned the fact that he will miss the African Cup of Nations final against Algeria on Friday through suspension.

Koulibaly received his second yellow card in three games when he was alleged to have handled a Tunisian strike in Sunday’s semi-final.

The resulting penalty was missed by the North Africans, and after Senegal missed a penalty of their own shortly after, a Dylan Bronn own goal in first half extra-time took the West Africans through to Friday’s final.

Senegal will thus be competing in their first Africa Cup of Nations final in 17 years, after losing the 2002 edition in Mali to Cameroon on penalties.

Koulibaly’s suspension means he will play no part in Senegal’s quest to win the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in their history and the Napoli defender has taken to social media to rue his unavailability.

"It's a final that brings joy to our people and we as players are proud of it. However, it pains me because I will not be able to play (due to his yellow card accumulation).  But I will be by the side of my brothers in making history," read his Tweet.

The 28-year-old, who was born in France to Senegalese parents, chose to play for the Taranga Lions at international level, despite featuring eleven times for the French U-20 side.

Friday’s opponents, Algeria, qualified for the final through a last-gasp free kick by Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez, to seal a 2-1 win over Nigeria in the other semi-final.