Row erupts as Morocco declared Afcon champions

A furious row has blown up after African football chiefs announced that Senegal will be stripped of the Africa Cup of Nations trophy they won in January, with beaten finalists Morocco awarded the match 3-0.

The decision to overturn the result of the final, one of the most seismic in terms of a major tournament, has been made by the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) appeal board as punishment for Senegal walking off the pitch in protest over a refereeing decision.

Senegal will now launch an appeal against the CAF decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The Senegalese federation did not offer a statement on Tuesday night but did post a video on social media of the team’s celebrations after the final. The Senegal central defender Moussa Niakhaté, who plays in France for Lyon, posted a picture of the trophy on Instagram saying: “If you want it, come and get it. They’re crazy.”

The CAF decision comes against a background of concern among some figures in African football about the growing influence of the Morocco federation, who are also big supporters of the Fifa president Gianni Infantino and co-hosts of the 2030 World Cup.

Morocco, who were beaten 1-0 in extra time in the final on January 18, had lodged a protest after the match.

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) said in a statement: “The federation wishes to recall that its approach has never been intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams participating in this competition, but solely to request the application of the competition’s regulations.

“The federation reaffirms its commitment to respecting the rules, ensuring clarity in the competitive framework, and maintaining stability within African competitions.”

Most of the Senegal players walked off in the final minute of normal time in Rabat when the VAR awarded the host nation a soft penalty with the match at 0-0. Senegal earlier had what appeared a perfectly good goal ruled out, but were persuaded to return to the field by their star player, the ex-Liverpool winger Sadio Mané. Morocco’s Brahim Díaz missed the penalty — a weak panenka effort easily saved — and Senegal went on to win the final thanks to a goal by ­Pape Gueye.

A statement by CAF read: “The CAF Appeal Board decided that in application of article 84 of the regulations of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations [Afcon], the Senegal national team is declared to have forfeited the final match of the Africa Cup of Nations [Afcon] Morocco 2025, with the result of the match being recorded as 3–0 in favour of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football [FRMF].

“The appeal lodged by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football is declared admissible in form and the appeal is upheld. All other motions or prayers for relief are dismissed.”

The FRMF had originally claimed it “will pursue legal action with CAF and Fifa to rule on the withdrawal of the Senegalese national team from the field… as well as on the events surrounding this decision, following the referee’s award of a penalty deemed correct by all experts. This situation had a significant impact on the normal course of the match and on the players’ performance.”

Senegal’s head coach Pape Thiaw later apologised for telling his players to walk off due to the refereeing decisions by Jean-Jacques Ndala, who is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Infantino, “strongly condemned… some Senegal players” after the final, saying: “It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner. We must always respect the decisions taken by the match officials on and off the field of play because anything less puts the very essence of football at risk.”

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