The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has overturned Senegal’s victory in the 2025 Africa Cup of nations final, officially declaring Morocco as champions.
In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, the CAF Appeal Board declared Morocco winners of the match by a 3–0 scoreline, officially crowning the Atlas Lions as champions.
The decision followed an appeal by the Moroccan Football Federation, which challenged an earlier ruling by CAF’s disciplinary body.
The protest centred on Senegal’s temporary walkout during the final, an act deemed a breach of Articles 82 and 84 of AFCON regulations.
According to AFCON’s Article 82,“If, for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report for a match, or 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. The same shall apply for the teams previously disqualified by decision of CAF”.
Article 84 of the rule added that “the team which contravenes the provisions of articles 82 and 83 shall be eliminated for good from the competition.
“This team will lose its Match by 3-0 unless the opponent has scored a more advantageous result at the time when the Match was interrupted; in this case, this score will be maintained. The Organising Committee may adopt further measures.”
In its ruling, the CAF Appeal Board upheld Morocco’s protest and set aside the Disciplinary Committee’s decision.
“The Confédération Africaine de Football (“CAF”) Appeal Board decided today 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 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 (“the Match”), with the result of the Match being recorded as 3–0 in favour of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF),” the statement reads.
“The CAF Appeal Board further finds that the conduct of the Senegal team falls within the scope of Articles 82 and 84 of the Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations.
“The protest lodged by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF) is upheld.
“It is declared that the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football (FSF), through the conduct of its team, infringed Article 82 of the Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations.
“In application of Article 84 of the Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations, the Senegal team is declared to have forfeited the match, with the result recorded as 3–0 in favour of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF).”
The controversy stemmed from a late penalty awarded to Morocco after a VAR review over a foul on Brahim Diaz.
In protest, Senegal’s coach led players off the pitch, halting the match for nearly 20 minutes before play resumed.
Although Senegal initially secured a 1-0 win, CAF’s final verdict nullified the result, handing Morocco a decisive 3-0 victory and the AFCON title.
