The Confederation of African Football (CAF) made the unusual move on Wednesday to strip Senegal of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and award it to beaten finalists Morocco.
The move came after a review of an incident at the end of normal time in the final on January 18, when the match was delayed for 14 minutes after Senegalese players left the field to protest the referee’s decisions.
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Morocco missed a subsequent penalty, which led to partial protests and a pitch invasion by some fans, with Senegal winning the match 1–0 after extra time.
The Senegal Football Federation (FSF) is now set to challenge the decision by CAF’s appeals board, which could spill over beyond African football and take more than a year to resolve.
Al Jazeera Sport looks at how the situation reached its latest crisis.
What is the AFCON final dispute between Senegal and Morocco?
Senegalese players and management were furious after a late penalty was awarded to Morocco, the hosts of the 2025 edition of the AFCON, which overlapped into the new year, with the final being played in Rabat.
At the end of the scheduled eight minutes of stoppage time, Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Nadala awarded a spot kick following a VAR review of El Hadji Malik Diouf’s challenge on Morocco forward Brahim Diaz.
The Senegalese had already protested to the referee in the second minute of stoppage time after Ibrahim Sar Golu was ruled out for a foul.
Before Diaz took the penalty, Senegal’s players and coaching staff left the field, with many believing the game could end there.
Senegal eventually hit back with Diaz then missing the kick, and the match immediately went into extra-time, where Pepe Gueye’s stunning strike settled the match.
Before the match was played, complaints were made by Senegal and Morocco’s other opponents that the referee’s decisions were in favor of the host nation – something Moroccan manager Walid Ragraoui vehemently denied.
During the walk-off by their players and staff, some Senegalese fans took to the field to protest. Subsequently, 18 of those arrested were sentenced to between three months and one year in prison, along with a fine of 5,000 Moroccan dirhams ($545).
Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko condemned Morocco’s punishment on 20 February, following a move by his country’s football association.
CAF’s disciplinary procedure imposed fines totaling more than $1m and banned Senegal’s coach and Senegalese and Moroccan players on 29 January.
However, the sanctions only apply to African games and not the FIFA World Cup 2026, which starts in June and for which both Senegal and Morocco have qualified.
Among the substantial fines against the FSF, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) was fined $200,000 after the home team’s ball boys attempted to confiscate a towel used by Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy at one point.
Morocco coach Walid Regragui said the game gave African football a “shameful” image, while his Senegalese counterpart Papa Thiau defended his actions and those of his players on Instagram. “It was not my intention to go against the principles of the game which I love so much. I tried to protect my players from injustice,” he said.
An immediate appeal dismissed by CAF at the time led to Morocco overturning the result and they were declared the winners following a Senegalese walk-off.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, however, slammed Senegal’s walk-off the day after the final and announced that the FRMF was pursuing legal action with FIFA and CAF because it “significantly 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, final and two months after Morocco’s initial approach, comes after CAF’s appeals board ruled on the matter.
Senegal were “declared to have missed” the match by leaving the field, the board said. It said the 1-0 result after the restart was now “officially recorded as 3-0” in Morocco’s favour.
Although not at first instance, CAF cited Article 82 of the tournament rules for its marquee event to justify the ruling enforced on appeal.
It states: “If, for any reason, a team withdraws from the competition or fails to report to the match, or refuses to play or walks off the field before the regular end of the match without the permission of the referee, it shall be deemed to have forfeited and be effectively eliminated from the current competition.”
However, the appellate ruling appears to override the referee’s authority to make field-of-play decisions.
What next for Senegal and Morocco as a result of the AFCON farce?
This is unlikely to end the matter, and the case is set to go on further appeal – at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The FSF condemned the decision to strip them of the title, labeling it “unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable” and saying it would cast a shadow over African football.
“The Senegalese Football Federation condemns this unjust, unprecedented and unacceptable decision, which casts a shadow over African football,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.
“To protect its rights and the interests of Senegalese football, the federation will initiate an appeal as soon as possible to the Court of Arbitration in Lausanne.”
If Senegal’s counter-appeal goes beyond CAF’s own panel to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, the process usually takes a year to render a ruling.
“The FSF reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the values of integrity and sporting justice and will keep the public informed of developments in this regard,” the federation said.
What was the reaction to CAF stripping Senegal of the AFCON title?
Tuesday’s verdict gave Morocco their first African title since 1976 and denied Senegal their second, who last won in 2021.
Abdoulaye Sedou Sou, secretary general of the FSF, immediately responded by saying the organization would appeal.
“We will not back down. The law is on our side,” Sou told public broadcaster Radiodiffusion Télévision Senegalese late on Tuesday.
He called the verdict “an insult to Africa”.
“This decision is a travesty on any legal basis. We felt that the committee was not there to apply the law, but to carry out the order,” Sou said.
Senegal defender Moussa Niakhate posted a story on Instagram with a picture of himself holding the trophy and the message: “Come get it! They’re crazy!”
In a similar story post, left back El Hadj Malik Diouf added: “It’s not what I expected … this thing is going nowhere.”
Claude Le Roy, who managed Senegal between 1988 and 1992, said: “No one could have imagined such a statement two months after the final.
“For years, CAF violated all refereeing decisions,” the veteran coach said on French television.
What’s the latest on Regragui and Morocco’s work ahead of the World Cup?
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar under coach Regragui, Morocco became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.
However, Regragui quit the job two weeks ago after being heavily criticized for not winning the AFCON title, saying “the team needs a new lease of life before the World Cup”.
Barring a successful appeal by Senegal to CAF, Morocco will go to FIFA World Cup 2026 as African champions.
It remains to be seen whether this latest development will open the door to a sensational comeback for Regragui.
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