4 min readUpdated: Mar 18, 2026 09:11 AM IST
Senegal have been stripped of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and Morocco, their opponents in the final, have been declared champions in an extraordinary decision announced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Tuesday. Morocco had lost that match 1-0 on January 18 in the country’s capital of Rabbat, but that was after Senegal had staged a walkout, led by their coach Pape Thiaw, over a contentious penalty that was awarded to the former in injury time.
It is this walkout, which delayed the final by 15 minutes, that has eventually led to them being stripped of the title. The CAF’s Appeals Board decided that Senegal had forfeited the match, with the result now being recorded as 3–0 in favour of Morocco. The Moroccan football federation – Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF), had initially appealed to the CAF’s Disciplinary Board which had been rejected. However, their position that Senegal had violated Article 82 of the regulations for the tournament was then accepeted by the CAF’s Appeals Board.
It said the conduct of the Senegal team fell “within the scope of Articles 82 and 84 of the Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations”, which state that “if, for any reason whatsoever, a team refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered the loser and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition”.
Senegal have announced that they will be taking the matter up at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), seeking to overturn CAF’s decision.
The chaotic scenes towards the end of the match was sparked by referee Jean-Jacques Ndala awarding a penalty to Morocco after
Brahim Diaz had been tugged to the ground by Senegal fullback El Hadji Malick Diouf while defending a corner five minutes into stoppage time with the score still reading 0-0. The referee had made the decision after checking the touchline screen, during which time players and officials from both sides jostled with each other. When Ndala walked back to the field and pointed to the penalty spot, Senegal head coach Thiaw led his players off the field.
Former Liverpool forward and Senegal talisman Sadio Mane was among the players who persuaded Thiaw and the rest of the players to return to the field. Diaz eventually took a rather tame penalty that was saved by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. The match went into extra time in which Pape Gueye scored for Senegal in the 94th minute. That turned out to be the only goal of the match.
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Tensions ran high throughout the match and it boiled over after the walkout. In a rather bizarre incident, the ball boys attempted to steal the towels of the Senegal goalkeeper, leading to the latter’s second goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf being seen keeping them in their hands for large parts of the match. CAF had impossed a fine on Morocco for it and, in their statement on Tuesday, said that it had been reduced to US$50,000.
But the fine of $100,000 that had been impossed on Morocco over their players and officials interfering with the VAR process still stands. The CAF further announced that it was setting aside a fine $100,000 on Morocco striker Ismael Saibari and a reduction of his suspension to one match for his role in a tussle with Senegal players near the end of the game.
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