Rarely seen moment Mali star refuses to celebrate goal – for a very sweet reason

NENE DORGELES refused to celebrate despite scoring for his country at the Africa Cup of Nations – for a very stylish reason.

The exciting playmaker, 21, produced an incredibly magical moment to fire Mali ahead in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final.

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Dorgeles cut inside from the left flank and dropped a defender on his backside, before unleashing a brilliant strike from 25 yards that flew into the top corner to break the deadlock on 71 minutes.

The Red Bull Salzburg star immediately left excited after his wonder goal against the hosts.

But within moments he suddenly jerked up and raised his hands to show he wasn't celebrating his goal-of-the-tournament contender – despite the excitement of his teammates.

And there is a very valid and beautiful explanation for the unusual reaction after such a phenomenal goal to put Mali ahead within twenty minutes of the Afcon semi-final.

That's because although Dorgeles was born and raised in Mali, his parents were born in Ivory Coast.

And that's why he wanted to show respect for his parents' home country, which he visits regularly.

Fans on social media praised Dorgeles for his thoughtful response, with emotions clearly running high.

One said: “I still can't get over Nene Dorgeles refusing to celebrate. I've seen players refuse to celebrate against their former club, but never after scoring against his parents' country.”

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Another simply wrote: “Respect.”

And a third added: “Nene Dorgeles joins Breel Embolo as the only players in my mind who have apologized for scoring against their parents' country. #classy”

Embolo responded in kind at the 2022 World Cup when he scored for Switzerland against his native Cameroon.

Normally the lack of celebration is reserved for club football when a player scores against his former team.

However, Dorgeles' goal was only a fraction of the incredible drama.

In the first half, Adama Noss Traore saw his golden opportunity to put Mali ahead from the penalty spot denied by a smart save from Yahia Fofana.

Odilon Kossounou then picked up his second yellow card of the first half, reducing the Elephants to ten men.

When it looked like Ivory Coast's chaotic run would come to an end, they equalized in the 90th minute through Simon Adingra to force extra time.

Sébastien Haller headed a header against the crossbar in the extra half hour, while at the other end Willy Boly scored an own goal within no time.

And with penalties looking inevitable, substitute Oumar Diakite grabbed the winner in the 122nd minute with a clever move, sending the hosts to the last four and creating pandemonium at the Stade Bouake.

However, there was still time for Diakite to be sent off as Ivory Coast – led by interim boss Emerse Fae following the sacking of Jean-Louis Gasset mid-tournament – finished with nine men, while Hamari Traore was also sent off for the heartbroken Mali.

Ivory Coast will play DR Congo in the semi-finals after Arthur Masuaku's wonder goal put them through against Guinea.

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