*As Senegal Refuses To Return Trophy And Vows CAS Appeal
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Confederation of African Football President Patrice Motsepe has admitted that African football remains plagued by trust issues and questions over its integrity, even as he defended the unprecedented decision of his organisation’s Appeal Board to strip Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and award the championship to Morocco.
Motsepe’s intervention, made through a video statement released on Wednesday, came a day after the CAF Appeal Board overturned the result of the January 18 final in Rabat, recording a 3-0 forfeit victory in favour of Morocco and officially crowning the host nation as AFCON 2025 champions — two months after Senegal had celebrated their victory with a national trophy parade.
Senegal has responded with fury, refusing to hand back the trophy, describing the decision as unjust, unprecedented, and unacceptable, and announcing it will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The AFCON final between Morocco and Senegal on January 18 descended into chaos in the closing moments. With the score at 0-0 deep in stoppage time, Senegal thought they had won when Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr found the net, but the goal was disallowed by VAR for a push in the build-up.
Minutes later, Congolese referee Jean Jacques Ndala, following another 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 proved the breaking point. Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw ordered his players off the pitch in protest before the penalty could be taken, in an extraordinary walkout that lasted approximately 14 minutes.
Former Liverpool striker Sadio Mane, who remained on the pitch, eventually persuaded his team-mates to return. “What matters is respecting the game. It is not fair to stop a match like this,” Mane later explained.
When play resumed, Diaz missed the penalty with a failed Panenka attempt. The match went to extra time, where Villarreal midfielder Pape Gueye scored the only goal to seal a 1-0 victory for Senegal.
Despite accepting the result on the night, Morocco’s Royal Football Federation lodged an appeal with CAF, arguing that the match had effectively ended the moment Senegal refused to play on.
The initial CAF Disciplinary Board upheld the result but imposed sanctions, including a five-match ban and $100,000 fine on coach Thiaw. However, Morocco escalated the matter to the CAF Appeal Board, which ruled decisively in their favour.
The Appeal Board found that Senegal’s conduct fell within the scope of Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON Regulations. Article 82 states that if a team refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the referee’s authorization, it shall be considered the loser and eliminated from the competition. Article 84 adds that such a team shall be eliminated for good.
The Appeal Board set aside the Disciplinary Board’s decision, declared that Senegal had infringed Article 82, and recorded the match as a 3-0 forfeit victory for Morocco.
In his video statement, Motsepe acknowledged that the events at the final had damaged confidence in African football but insisted that CAF’s judicial processes were conducted with integrity and independence.
“I previously expressed my extreme disappointment with the incidents that took place at the final. It undermines the good work that CAF has done over many, many years to ensure that there’s integrity, there’s respect, there’s ethics, there’s governance, as well as the credibility of the results of our football matches,” the CAF President stated.
Motsepe admitted that the controversy was part of a deeper, longstanding credibility crisis within African football.
“We are still dealing with suspicion and mistrust. It’s a legacy issue. When I became president, one of the major concerns was the impartiality, independence and the respect of referees and match commissioners. A lot of good work has been done, but there continues to be suspicion because it’s a legacy issue. It’s something that has been there for many, many years,” he said.
Addressing perceptions that Morocco, as host nation, wields excessive influence over African football governance, Motsepe denied any preferential treatment.
“A critical factor is that not a single country in Africa will be treated in a manner that is more preferential, or more advantageous, or more favourable than any other country on the African continent,” the South African billionaire mining magnate declared.
Motsepe pointed to the fact that CAF’s Disciplinary Board and Appeal Board reached opposite conclusions as evidence of the independence of the judicial bodies.
“Partly the independence is reflected by the decisions that were taken by the two bodies. The CAF Disciplinary Board took one decision. The CAF Appeals Board took a totally different position,” he stated.
He explained that under his leadership, the selection process for judicial officials had been overhauled, with each member association and regional zone invited to nominate respected judges and lawyers.
“If you look at the composition of those bodies, they reflect some of the most respected lawyers and judges on the continent,” he said, while acknowledging that doubts persist and that CAF must continue to address perceptions about the integrity of its judicial structures.
Motsepe acknowledged Senegal’s right to challenge the ruling at the highest level, including the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“I’m told that Senegal is going to appeal, which is very important. Every one of the 54 nations in Africa has a right to pursue their appeals, not only at the highest level in Africa, in CAF, but also the highest body, which is the Court of Arbitration for Sport. And we will adhere and respect the decision that’s taken at the highest level,” he stated.
The Senegalese Football Federation has responded to the ruling with a blistering statement, describing the decision as one that discredits African football and vowing to fight it.
“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 federation stated.
Senegal has indicated it will not voluntarily surrender the trophy, setting the stage for a prolonged institutional and legal battle over the continental crown.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation issued a measured statement, saying its approach was never intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams but solely to request the application of the competition’s regulations.
Morocco’s coach Walid Regragui, who led the team to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals, had already resigned earlier this month after taking responsibility for the loss on the pitch — before the appeal reversed the result.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino had earlier slammed the walk-off as featuring “unacceptable scenes” and condemned the behaviour of some Senegalese players and coaching staff. Coach Thiaw received a five-match suspension and $100,000 fine, while bans were imposed on players from both sides, though these apply only to future AFCON qualifiers and not the upcoming World Cup.
Motsepe disclosed that CAF had already begun internal reviews following the controversial final, identifying deficiencies that need to be addressed.
“We take what has happened at the final match very, very seriously. And we have already started with very important steps to make sure that those areas which have been identified as deficiencies, that the necessary resolutions are passed,” he said.
He concluded by stressing that public trust, not internal validation, would ultimately determine the legitimacy of CAF’s decisions.
“It is important for us that ordinary football supporters and spectators in every one of the 54 countries in Africa, in their judgement, not in CAF’s judgement, regard the decisions of our judicial bodies as fair, with integrity and impartiality. And what is equally important is that they regard our referees, our VAR operators, and our match commissioners as people who are fair and just,” Motsepe stated.
The CAS appeal 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 contested. Senegal’s players will theoretically be required to return their winners’ medals, though compliance remains uncertain given the federation’s stance.
The controversy has sent shockwaves through African football and raised fundamental questions about the enforcement of tournament regulations, the proportionality of stripping a title won on the pitch, the role of VAR in high-stakes matches, and whether the punishment fits the offence of a temporary walkout protest that was reversed before the match concluded.
For Sadio Mane — who stayed on the pitch, urged his team-mates back, and helped Senegal win the match through legitimate competition — the reversal of the result two months later on procedural grounds remains a particularly bitter outcome that many across the continent view as a grave injustice to players who completed and won the match on the field.
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