The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Wednesday took the unusual step of stripping Senegal of the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarding it to defeated finalist Morocco.
The move followed a review of the incident after regular time at the January 18 final in which the match was delayed by 14 minutes after Senegalese players left the field in protest of the referee’s decision.
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Morocco missed the ensuing penalty, leading to some fans protesting and storming the pitch, but Senegal won 1-0 in extra time.
The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) now plans to appeal the CAF appeals committee’s decision, but the move extends far beyond African football and could take more than a year to resolve.
Al Jazeera Sports looks at how the situation reached its latest impasse.
What was the final AFCON dispute between Senegal and Morocco?
Senegal’s players and management were furious at the late penalty given to 2025 AFCON hosts Morocco, which coincided with the new year when the final was to be played in Rabat.
Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala awarded the spot-kick just before the end of the allotted eight minutes of injury time, following a VAR review of El Hadji Malick Diouf’s challenge on Moroccan forward Brahim Dias.
The Senegalese player had already complained to the referee two minutes into injury time about Ibrahim Sarr’s goal, which was ruled out for a foul.
Senegal’s players and coaching staff left the field before Dias took the penalty, and many believed the game might end there.
Senegal eventually returned by bringing on Dias, but he missed the kick and the match quickly went into extra time, with Papu Gueye’s stunning strike clinching the match.
Before the match took place, there were complaints from Senegal and other Moroccan opponents that the referee’s decision favored the hosts, but Morocco’s coach Walid Lagraoui vehemently rejected them.
As the players and staff left, some Senegalese fans took to the field in protest. Eighteen of those arrested were subsequently sentenced to prison terms ranging from three months to one year and fines of up to 5,000 Moroccan dirhams ($545).
Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko joined his country’s football association in condemning Morocco’s ruling on February 20.
As a result of CAF’s disciplinary procedures, on January 29, fines totaling more than $1 million were imposed, as well as suspensions for the Senegalese coach, Senegalese and Moroccan players.
However, the sanctions only applied to African matches and not to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which Senegal and Morocco have qualified for, starting in June.
Among the hefty fines against the FSF, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) was fined $200,000 for the actions of the home team’s ball boy, who at one stage tried to snatch a towel being used by Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Morocco coach Walid Leglaghi said the match cast a “shameful” image on African football, while Senegal boss Papa Thiau defended his and his players’ actions on Instagram. “I had no intention of going against the principles of the game I love. I was just trying to protect our players from cheating,” he said.
At the time, CAF rejected the decision, but Morocco filed an immediate appeal to have the result canceled and Morocco declared the winner, citing Senegal’s walk-off win.
However, FIFA president Gianni Infantino condemned Senegal’s walkover the day after the final, and announced that the FRMF would be filing a lawsuit with FIFA and CAF, saying it had “severely affected the normal flow of the match and the performance of the players.”
Why did CAF change its mind about stripping Senegal of the AFCON title?
Tuesday’s decision came two months after the final and the Moroccan side’s initial approach, after CAF’s appeals committee ruled on the matter.
The board said the match was “declared a forfeit” with Senegal sent off the field. He said the 1-0 result after the restart was “officially recorded as 3-0” in favor of Morocco.
CAF cited Article 82 of the marquee event’s tournament rules to justify the verdict, which was enforced at the appeals court, although not at the first hearing.
“If a team withdraws from the match, does not participate in the match, refuses to play, or leaves the field before the end of the match without the permission of the referee for any reason, that team shall be deemed the loser and shall be permanently excluded from the current competition.”
Still, the appeal verdict appeared to override the referee’s authority in making field-of-play decisions.
What will happen next for Senegal and Morocco in the aftermath of the AFCON farce?
This is unlikely to be the end of the matter, and the case could be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The FSF condemned the decision to strip the title as “unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable” and said it cast a shadow on African football.
“The Senegalese Football Federation condemns this unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable decision that casts a shadow on African football,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.
“In order to protect the rights and interests of Senegalese football, the federation will launch an appeal as soon as possible to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.”
In fact, if Senegal’s counterclaim goes beyond CAF’s own committee and is submitted to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, the process typically takes a year to reach a decision.
“The FSF reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the values of integrity and sporting justice and will continue to keep the public informed about developments on this issue,” the federation said.
What was the reaction to CAF stripping Senegal of the AFCON title?
Tuesday’s ruling gave Morocco its first African title since 1976 and denied Senegal its second title, which it last won in 2021.
FSF Secretary-General Abdullahi Seydou Sow immediately reacted, saying the organization would appeal.
“We will not back down. The law is on our side,” Sow told Senegalese public broadcaster Radio Diffusion Television late Tuesday.
He called the ruling “a disgrace to Africa.”
“This decision is a farce with no legal basis. We felt that the commission is not there to apply the law, but to carry out orders,” So said.
Senegalese defender Moussa Niahate posted an Instagram story with an image of himself holding the trophy and the message: “Come get it! They’re crazy!”
In a similar story post, left-back El Hadji Malik Diouf added: “It’s not what I expected…this doesn’t help.”
Claude Le Roy, who coached Senegal from 1988 to 1992, said, “No one could have imagined that such a statement would be made two months after the final.”
“For many years, all decisions of referees have been ignored by CAF,” the veteran coach said on French television.
What’s the latest on Regulagui and Morocco’s work before the World Cup?
Under Regulagui, Morocco became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
However, coach Legulagi resigned two weeks ago after heavy criticism for failing to win the AFCON title, saying: “The team needs a breath of fresh air before the World Cup.”
Unless Senegal’s appeal to CAF is successful, Morocco will enter the 2026 FIFA World Cup as African champions.
It remains to be seen whether this latest development opens the door to a sensational comeback for Regulagi.
