In one of the most extraordinary and controversial decisions in the history of African football, the Confederation of African Football has stripped Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and officially crowned Morocco as champions, two months after the Lions of Teranga celebrated their victory with a national trophy parade.
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The CAF Appeal Board on Tuesday upheld Morocco’s claim that Senegal’s stoppage-time walk-off during the final in Rabat on January 18 constituted a breach of the tournament’s regulations, overturning the original result and recording the match as a 3-0 forfeit victory in favour of the host nation.
Senegal has responded with fury, refusing to hand back the trophy and announcing it will appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The AFCON final between Morocco and Senegal in Rabat on January 18 was one of the most dramatic and chaotic matches in the tournament’s history.
With the score at 0-0 deep into stoppage time, Senegal thought they had won the match when Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr found the net. However, the goal was ruled out by VAR for what was described as a timid push by a team-mate during the build-up, leaving the Senegalese camp incensed.
Minutes later, the situation escalated further when Congolese referee Jean Jacques Ndala, following a VAR review, awarded Morocco a penalty after West Ham’s El Hadji Malick Diouf was adjudged to have fouled Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz in the box.
The double VAR intervention — first disallowing Senegal’s goal and then awarding Morocco a penalty — proved to be the breaking point. Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw ordered his players to leave the pitch in protest before the penalty could be taken, in an extraordinary act of defiance that stunned the football world.
As the Senegalese squad headed toward the dressing room, former Liverpool striker Sadio Mane remained on the pitch and urged his team-mates to return. Mane later explained his decision, saying he consulted with people around him before deciding to bring everyone back.
“When they decided to go out and not play, I stayed and asked some people, ‘What do you think about this? Is it a good idea or not?’ Then I decided to go and bring everyone back to the pitch. I think it is the best thing to do. Because this is just football, I think the referee sometimes can make mistakes. People around the world are watching. It could be a penalty or not, but that is not the most important thing. What matters is respecting the game. It is not fair to stop a match like this,” Mane said.
The players eventually returned to the pitch after a delay of several minutes. Diaz then missed the penalty with a failed Panenka attempt, sending it straight at the goalkeeper. With the match still deadlocked at 0-0, the contest went to extra time, where Villarreal midfielder Pape Gueye broke the deadlock to seal a 1-0 victory for Senegal.
Senegal celebrated what they believed was their second continental crown, with a massive trophy parade that brought scenes of national jubilation.
Despite accepting the result on the night, Morocco subsequently lodged an appeal with CAF, arguing that the match had effectively ended the moment Senegal refused to play on. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation contended that under the tournament’s regulations, Senegal’s walk-off constituted a forfeiture of the match.
The initial CAF Disciplinary Board had upheld the result but imposed sanctions, including a five-match suspension and a $100,000 fine on coach Thiaw for unsportsmanlike conduct, violation of the principles of fair play and integrity, and damage to the image of football. Bans were also imposed on players from both sides, including Sarr, Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye, and PSG’s Moroccan defender Ashraf Hakimi and Ismael Saibari, though these apply only to future AFCON qualifiers and not the upcoming World Cup.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino had also weighed in, slamming the walk-off as featuring “unacceptable scenes” and condemning the behaviour of some Senegalese players and coaching staff.
However, Morocco was not satisfied with the Disciplinary Board’s decision and escalated the matter to the CAF Appeal Board.
The CAF Appeal Board ruled decisively in Morocco’s favour, finding that Senegal’s conduct fell within the scope of Articles 82 and 84 of the Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Article 82 states that if for any reason a team refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorization of the referee, it shall be considered the loser and eliminated for good from the competition. Article 84 adds that the team which contravenes Article 82 shall be eliminated for good from the competition.
The Appeal Board declared Morocco’s appeal admissible and upheld it in full, setting aside the original Disciplinary Board decision. It declared that the Senegalese Football Federation, through the conduct of its team, had infringed Article 82 of the AFCON Regulations, and that in application of Article 84, the Senegal team is declared to have forfeited the match, with the result recorded as 3-0 in favour of Morocco.
All other motions or prayers for relief were dismissed.
The Senegalese Football Federation responded with a blistering statement, describing the decision as unjust, unprecedented, and unacceptable, and accusing CAF of discrediting African football.
“The Senegalese Football Federation denounces this unjust, unprecedented, and unacceptable decision, which discredits African football. In defence of its rights and the interests of Senegalese football, the Federation will initiate, as soon as possible, an appeal procedure before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne,” the statement read.
Senegal has indicated it will not hand back the trophy voluntarily, setting the stage for a prolonged legal and institutional battle over the continental crown.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation issued a measured statement, noting that its approach was never intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams 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. It also wishes to commend all the nations that took part in this edition of the AFCON, which has been a major moment for African football,” the statement read.
Morocco’s coach Walid Regragui, who had led the team to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals, had already resigned earlier this month after taking responsibility for failing to win the AFCON on the pitch. The reversal of the result now presents an unusual situation where the team has been crowned champions after their coach has already departed.
Under the CAF ruling, Senegal’s players will be required to return their winners’ medals. Morocco’s players will receive the winners’ medals instead.
However, because Senegal has been nominally eliminated under Articles 82 and 84, there is a question of whether they would even receive runners-up medals, adding further insult to what the Senegalese Federation considers an already unjust outcome.
A Morocco trophy parade may prove logistically challenging, as the players are due to play pre-World Cup friendlies against Ecuador in Madrid and Paraguay in Lens, France, without returning home. The most likely opportunity for a celebration would be either just before or after the World Cup this summer.
While the decision is unprecedented at this level of a continental championship, there is a recent precedent in European football. In 2024, UEFA awarded Romania a 3-0 Nations League victory over Kosovo when the Kosovo team walked off the pitch in the final minute after accusing fans of discriminatory behaviour.
CAF’s Appeal Board is the final authority within the Confederation, meaning the decision is binding as far as African football is concerned. However, Senegal’s announced appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne — the ultimate body for handling sporting disputes globally — means the controversy is far from over.
The CAS process could take several months, during which the question of who holds the trophy, the medals, and the title of AFCON 2025 champions will remain unresolved. The decision has sent shockwaves through African football and is certain to dominate debate across the continent for months to come.
The ruling also raises broader questions about the enforcement of tournament regulations, the role of VAR in high-stakes matches, the appropriate response to perceived refereeing injustice, and whether the punishment — stripping a team of a title won on the pitch — is proportionate to the offence of a temporary walk-off protest.
For Senegal’s players, particularly Sadio Mane — who stayed on the pitch and urged his team-mates to return — the decision is an especially bitter pill. Mane’s actions on the night were widely praised as an act of sportsmanship and leadership, and the extra-time victory that followed was achieved through legitimate sporting competition. The reversal of that result two months later on procedural grounds is certain to be viewed by many as a grave injustice to the players who completed the match and won it on the field.
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