TWO months after they were crowned champions, had a trophy tour in their nation’s capital and awarded lucrative bonuses, Senegal have been stripped of their mantle as African football champions.
Morocco have been named the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Champions after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) appeal board made a landmark decision, overturning Senegal’s helm as the champions of the 2025 tournament following an appeal made by Morocco.
The night in question involved a goal scored by Ismaila Sarr that was disallowed before Morocco were awarded a late penalty following VAR intervention. In protest to the call, Senegal manager Pape Thiaw appeared to instruct his players to leave the field, with the team retreating to the tunnel for around 15 minutes before he instructed midfielder Sadio Mané — one of the few remaining on the field — to call the players back.
When play resumed, Moroccan forward Brahim Díaz missed the spot-kick, forcing extra time. Following the dramatic turn of events, Senegal were crowned champions of Africa, while Morocco decried the result and lodged an appeal with CAF.
The historic decision is contained in a statement released by the board on 17 March. The board found that Senegal’s move to walk off the field in protest constituted a forfeiture under CAF regulations (regardless of the fact that play eventually resumed) just as Morocco had claimed in their appeal. The senior men’s team had lost 1-0 to Senegal on the night, the goal scored by Papa Gueye in extra time.
In addition, both the Federation Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF) and the Senegalese Football Federation (FSCF) were fined by CAF at the end of January and handed a series of disciplinary sanctions, amounting to several hundred thousand Euros, for unsportsmanlike behaviour and violations of fair play principles.
“The Senegal National Team is declared to have forfeited the Final Match of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 (“the Match”), with the result of the Match being recorded as 3-0 in favour of the Federation Royale Marocaine de Football,” the statement read.
The Moroccan federation took note of the decision, saying in a statement issued moments after the announcement that their approach had never been intended to challenge the sporting performance, but only to ask for the application of the competition regulations.
Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, secretary general of Senegal’s Football Federation, told Senegal’s national broadcaster RTS that the ruling was “a travesty, built on nothing at all. There is no legal basis for it.” He added that the federation’s president would consult lawyers, engage with the relevant authorities, and ultimately take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, which he said would deliver the definitive judgement, and for which the federation has ten days from the appeal ruling to file.
Sow went further, calling the decision “a disgrace for Africa,” insisting: “We will not retreat. The Senegalese people should be confident, truth is on Senegal’s side, and so is the law.” The Senegalese Football Federation denounced the ruling as “unfair, unprecedented, and unacceptable, which discredits football.”
In related news, the appeal trial of 18 Senegalese supporters who were imprisoned following tensions and clashes at the final, sentenced to between three months and one year in prison for hooliganism, which had been due to take place on Monday, has been postponed to 30 March.
With the ruling now made by CAF, the 2025 final match will be registered as 3-0 to Morocco, crowning them as Champions of Africa. It is their second AFCON title, following their first claimed in 1976.
