Mali falls to Senegal in Africa 2025 quarterfinals as sorcerer fails in attempt to tip the match in their favor
The Mali national team exited the quarter-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after a 1-0 defeat to Senegal, ending Mali’s dreams of winning the continental title for the first time in its history.
Media reports, most notably from the British newspaper The Sun, revealed a strange story involving Malian fans who reportedly paid approximately £30,000 to Karamogo Sinayoko, a prominent sorcerer in the country, after he promised to use his spiritual powers to help the national team achieve victory against Senegal.
Sinayoko, dubbed the “sorcerer” or “magic man,” had also received large sums from fans before Mali’s match against Tunisia in the Round of 16. In that decisive match, Mali managed to come back from a goal down and win on penalties despite playing with only 10 men. This outcome convinced fans of the credibility of the man’s claims regarding his ability to influence sporting events.
Following that successful match, Sinayoko announced: “Everyone in the neighborhood came to my house to celebrate me, and people came from all over the city to see me.”
However, the “Eagles” subsequently lost to Senegal by a single goal, leading to their withdrawal from the tournament. According to local media, Sinayoko had sworn on the Quran to guide Mali to victory in the next round as well, but that promise went unfulfilled.
Following the failure to deliver on his word, a mob of about a hundred angry fans began pelting the self-proclaimed prophet’s house with stones, necessitating police intervention to calm the situation. Upon their arrival, police charged Sinayoko with fraud and arrested him.
The fraud charges included “charlatanism”—the practice of falsely pretending to possess spiritual skills or unproven abilities for financial gain.
During his interrogation after the arrest, Sinayoko stated: “Am I God? No, I am not God. When I performed my spiritual duty and Tunisia was defeated, everyone in the neighborhood came to my house to celebrate me. Now that we have been defeated by Senegal, I am being attacked and my property is being destroyed.”
He added: “I performed my spiritual duty, but God did not accept it. I am not God; I did my duty, and God chose otherwise.”
United News Network – UNN Arabic
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