As far as nights in football go, they are unlikely to come much worse than Chelsea defender Mamadou Sarr’s Tuesday evening.
The Senegalese centre back endured a nightmare evening almost from the get-go, after being forced to slot in at right back against Paris Saint-Germain due to the absence of Reece James and Malo Gusto.
After just six minutes, he made a glaring error which led to Georgian Kvicha Kvaratskhelia opening the scoring for PSG, effectively ending the tie in the process as the aggregate score shifted to 6-2.
Sarr could not be blamed for Bradley Barcola’s excellent goal eight minutes later but with Kvaratskhelia a constant threat down the left for PSG, Liam Rosenior had seen enough and decided to take him off at half-time.
Rosenior was complimentary of Sarr following the 3-0 defeat on the night, which saw an aggregate score of 8-2, but it is unlikely his words would have helped to ease the frustration.
He told TNT Sports: “Mamadou, he’s a very good player, but we missed our two starting right-backs.
“There are times when you have to put players in and you have to trust them. It took the wind out of our sails.”
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Incredibly being hooked at half-time as his side was dumped out of the Champions League was just the tip of the iceberg for Sarr’s evening.
Because, as the few remaining at Stamford Bridge saw the full-time whistle blown, there was a far bigger story brewing in Africa.
The Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), announced, seemingly out of the blue, that Morocco were crowned the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winners.
The announcement came a whole 59 days following the conclusion of the final, which Senegal won 1-0 after extra time, resulting in players being awarded plots of land.
The match was shrouded in controversy, with Senegal players leaving the pitch shortly before full-time after Morocco were awarded a penalty in stoppage time.
Eventually, they came back onto the field after a lengthy delay, following which, Brahim Díaz missed from the spot after striking the ball directly at Édouard Mendy.
It is for that reason that CAF have ruled in favour of Morocco, deciding that by leaving the field, Senegal forfeited the match and thus lost 3-0.
It was a bombshell announcement and one which Senegal have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
For Sarr, it gave him the unique honour of losing two matches of football 3-0 on the same night, capping off what must surely be considered one of the worst nights in football.
