Salah receives offer from referee as Liverpool star loses out to Mane

Mohamed Salah received an offer from the referee during the final of the Africa Cup of Nations as the Liverpool star lost out to club team-mate Sadio Mane for the trophy.

It was a fiercely contested final, which went all the way to a penalty shoot-out, which Mane's Senegal side ultimately won after the attacker scored the vital spot-kick.

Referee Victor Gomes awarded 53 fouls over the course of the 120 minutes of normal and extra-time time, with neither side able to break the deadlock.

Mane had the best chance to do so after just seven minutes when Mohamed Abdelmonem lunged in on Senegal left-back Saliou Ciss in the fourth minute to concede a penalty.

The Liverpool star stepped up to take the spot-kick and had words with Egypt keeper Gabaski amid a lengthy delay.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Who did you think was man of the match as Senegal defeated Egypt? Comment below.

But the 29-year-old blasted his penalty to the left of centre, with Gabaski guessing right way to dive down and punch the ball clear.

Salah meanwhile endured a frustrating evening, having just two shots in the entirety of the match.

At one point, he even drew a comical reaction from referee Gomes as Salah frequently protested against the decisions he was making.

As the first-half entered the closing stages, Salah was again in his ear to take issue with a decision, with Gomes clearly fed up.

And the match official brutally shut down the Egypt star, sarcastically offering him his cards and the whistle.

It was a gesture as if to ask 'Would you like to referee instead?', with Salah sheepishly turning down the offer.

Supporters watching on delighted in Gomes' move, though some also noted that Salah may have done a better job than many.

"That's code for 'Shut the f*** up'," wrote one fan on social media.

"Fair play to the referee, Salah didn't want any of that," tweeted another.

"Nice one Victor Gomes for flying the South African flag," a third wrote.

"Would do a better job than most of them at AFCON," added another.

"I like this Ref, get him in the Premier League," a fifth tweeted.

Salah would ultimately suffer heartbreak in the shootout and was not even able to take one of the spot-kicks as he was selected to take Egypt's final one.

All the penalties were successful until Abdelmonem stepped up and saw his hit the left-hand upright and bounce away - but Gabaski immediately denied Senegal's Bouna Sarr.

But Chelsea and Senegal keeper Edouard Mendy then saved Mohanad Lasheen's effort to set Mane up to win it for his country.

That was a chance he duly took, converting his spot-kick to win Senegal's first ever Africa Cup of Nations, with the Teranga Lions having suffered two previous final defeats.

Salah meanwhile is still yet to win a trophy on the international stage, with this being his second defeat in an Africa Cup of Nations final.