The Gambia’s Muhammed Sanneh Channels Diego Maradona with Hilarious Handball Goal Against Cameroon

The Gambia’s Muhammed Sanneh Channels Diego Maradona with Hilarious Handball Goal Against Cameroon

Byron Pillay
updated at February 13, 2024 at 11:54 AM
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  • Muhammed Sanneh scored what many thought was The Gambia's third goal against Cameroon
  • He was shown a yellow card after VAR confirmed he pushed the ball into the net with his hand
  • The goal would have knocked Cameroon out of AFCON 2023 and given Ghana a chance to go on

AFCON 2023 has truly produced some entertaining moments, but none more hilarious than Muhammed Sanneh’s goal.

The Gambia’s defender scored a crucial goal late on in his side’s game against Cameroon, levelling the game at 3-3.

Muhammed Sanneh scored The Gambia's third goal of the evening, but the goal was chalked off after the player was spotted using his hand to score.
Cameroon keeper, Fabrice Ondoa protests after The Gambia's Muhammed Sanneh wheeled away in celebration after scoring with his hand. Image: Kenzo Tribouillard.
Source: Getty Images

His celebrations were soon cut short as Cameroon goalkeeper, Fabrice Ondoa protested that the ball had gone off the player’s arm.

While The Gambia players celebrated their late equaliser, referee Bamlak Tessema Weyesa was called over to the VAR screen to have a look at the incident.

Replays showed that while Sanneh did score the goal, he did it purposefully with his hand, channelling Diego Maradona’s infamous goal against England.

The goal was soon chalked off and Weyesa tracked down the player to show him a card. Hilariously, he still feigned innocence after he was carded, despite knowing full well what he had done.

The goal, if it had not been for the VAR, would have knocked Camerron out of the tournament. It would have also given Ghana a slight chance to still progress into the knockouts.

The incident left many in stitches, as fans on social media compared his efforts to Maradona's goal.

@UTDDengv2:

“Attempting the hand of God when VAR is watching your every move. You will never find this level of entertainment outside of AFCON😭😭😭.”

@NunguSompisi:

“Without VAR, we would’ve been served “hand of God” in real lifetime 😭😭😭 #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023.”

@Lorenz_KO:

“The Hand Of God could have topped it all off, but we’re in the era of VAR. 😅”

@Kaysitsofe:

“Muhammed Sanneh thought he is prime Maradona🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.”

Onana benched for Cameroon game

Andre Onana had to watch from the bench as his Cameroon teammates earned qualification to the round of 16 with a thrilling win.

The Manchester United keeper was dropped by coach, Rigobert Song for Cameroon’s crucial final group game against The Gambia.

Onana missed the first game of AFCON and then conceded three goals in the second game, as Sports Brief previously reported.

Authors
Byron Pillay photo
Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.