We can be proud of ourselves because, in spite of what happened, we haven't let anyone down El Hadji Diouf

Their 2-1 loss to Egypt in Tuesday's semi-final was marked by the refusal of Cameroonian referee Divine Evehe to award Senegal what looked a clear penalty, after Diomansy Kamara was brought down.

For Diouf and several of his team mates, it was a telling reminder of their experience in Tunisia two years ago, when they went down 1-0 to the hosts in the quarter-finals, amid scenes of mayhem.

The referee in that game failed to award a free kick for a foul on Diouf in the build-up to Tunisia's goal.

Furious Senegal coaching staff and substitutes swarmed onto the pitch and, in the ensuing ugly scenes, Diouf was red-carded and later banned for violent conduct.

But the forward said he and his colleagues had learnt important lessons from the 2004 tournament.

"This time, we showed that we've matured by not disputing the referee's decision so that we didn't get any players suspended," Diouf said.

"We can be proud of ourselves because, in spite of what happened, we haven't let anyone down."

That provides little consolation for Kamara, who is bitter about the referee's refusal to award a penalty that could have changed the face of Tuesday's semi-final.

"Once again, the host nation has been favoured," said Kamara.

"We gave away some silly goals, but at the end there is a clear penalty and I don't see how the referee can do anything but give it.

"We're really disappointed to go out like this."

Diouf shared Kamara's anger but was pleased with the way his team handled the referee's decision.

"It was a penalty but it wasn't given - what can you do? That's football.

"We learned our lesson from what happened in Tunisia."

Diouf said Senegal will approach Thursday's third-place match against Nigeria with seriousness, but admitted the team is struggling to overcome the pain of Tuesday's defeat.

"We're going to play this game and we're going to try and keep our heads high," he said.