Crystal Palace Boss Reveals Ismaila Sarr Refuses to Give AFCON Medal to Teammate Chadi Riad

Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner shared a humorous moment from the club’s dressing room involving Senegal forward Ismaila Sarr and Moroccan defender Chadi Riad.

The incident comes after CAF’s controversial ruling this week that stripped Senegal of the 2025 AFCON title and awarded the trophy to Morocco. The decision overturned Senegal’s 1-0 victory, officially recording the match as a 3-0 win for the host nation.

While Riad was not part of Morocco’s AFCON squad, the ruling sparked a playful exchange at Palace.

Glasner explained: “I must smile and laugh about it. I didn’t realise Morocco went to CAF. I have to be careful because we have one Moroccan and one Senegalese player in our squad.”

The Crystal Palace boss added that he checked to see if Sarr had handed over the gold medal or bonus to Riad, but the forward refused.

“I also said to him, ‘Maybe you have to send your bonus to Chadi’s account,’ but he said he won’t. Isma was also laughing about it. I think it’s a weird situation, honestly,” Glasner said.