Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has come to the defence of Brahim Diaz after his penalty miss in the Africa Cup of Nations final.

Diaz had the opportunity to win the trophy for tournament hosts Morocco after they were awarded a stoppage-time penalty against Senegal on Sunday.

However, after being made to wait 17 minutes to take the spot-kick due to Senegal’s protests, which included a temporary walk-off, Diaz’s Panenka attempt was saved by Edouard Mendy.

Morocco went on to lose the final 1-0 in extra time, with the Real Madrid attacker in tears as he went to collect his Golden Boot award during the trophy presentation.

Luis Enrique handed Diaz his international debut for Spain in an international friendly in 2021, before the forward switched allegiance to represent Morocco.

The former Spain boss defended Diaz’s decision to try a Panenka, referring to those who have successfully done so in the past.

“He is an exceptional player and a very good person,” Luis Enrique said. “It's very unfair to see that.

“I can understand it's hard to accept and it was a bizarre thing to do.

“Everyone can see that. But this is a sport, nothing else. Nothing happens, whether you win or lose.

"The important thing is the value that you can give to young people, without exaggerating on that. He is neither an assassin nor a bad person.

“You have to respect how difficult it is to be a young player. It's a difficult time. There's a lot of pressure.

“I remember [Zinedine] Zidane, who is a football God, did a Panenka during a World Cup final [in 2006 against Italy].

“I also remember Sergio Ramos, who took a Panenka during a very important game [Spain's Euro 2012 semi-final against Portugal]. Lots of players have done it.

“When you score that type of penalty, nobody says anything and everybody applauds.

"But when you miss, there are lots of negative opinions about that player, and he is a magnificent player.”