Why Mali midfielder didn’t celebrate goal against Côte d’Ivoire

The AFCON semifinal match between Mali and Côte d’Ivoire was still goalless at 70 minutes, despite Côte d’Ivoire being reduced to 10 men in the first half. Then came a powerful shot from outside the box from Malian substitute midfielder, Nene Dorgeles.

After scoring such a goal at a crucial point in the game, one would expect a vibrant emotional celebration from the goal scorer. In fact, he did start celebrating but paused two seconds into the celebration, his hands up in the air, as a way of apologising to the fans of the opposing team.

Dorgeles had scored a worthy goal-of-the-tournament contender against his own country (by parentage): his parents are Ivorians, but Dorgeles was born and raised in Mali. That was the reason why the player did not celebrate his goal.

However, the Malians failed to hold onto the lead the attacking midfielder gave them as the AFCON host country fought back with 10 men to win the game 2-1.

A sports journalist, Owuraku Ampofo, explained on X that the Salzburg midfielder “was brought up in the JMG academy in Mali and opted to naturalise for Mali.” The journalist added that Dorgeles often spends his holidays in both Mali and Côte d’Ivoire.

Nene Dorgeles didn’t celebrate after scoring his worldie against Ivory Coast because his parents are Ivorian. He was brought up in the JMG academy in Mali and opted to naturalise for Mali. The forward usually spends his holidays in both countries.#AFCON2023 🇲🇱🇨🇮 pic.twitter.com/vUMhF03j9Q

— Owuraku Ampofo (@_owurakuampofo) February 3, 2024

A player that has done a similar classy act is Breel Embolo, during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The Switzerland forward did not celebrate his goal against Cameron, his country by birth.

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Emmanuel Ejiofor

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