Morocco have been declared the winners of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) overturned the result of their final defeat to Senegal in Rabat.
Senegal defeated Morocco 1-0 in the AFCON final in Rabat on January 18 in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.
Following a delay of around 17 minutes, the players eventually returned to the pitch, and Morocco’s Brahim Díaz saw his penalty saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored the extra-time winner.
However, that result has now been overturned by CAF, African football’s governing body.
A statement from CAF on Tuesday said that Senegal “has been declared to have forfeited the final match,” with the “result of the match recorded as 3–0 in favour” of Morocco.
In a statement, the CAF Appeal Board said Senegal, “through the conduct of its team,” infringed Article 82 of the AFCON regulations, thereby triggering Article 84, which mandates forfeiture and a 3–0 loss.
Article 82 stipulates that any team that refuses to continue play or leaves the pitch without the referee’s approval is deemed to have lost the match, while Article 84 provides for automatic elimination and a forfeited scoreline.
However, the Senegalese Football Federation has strongly rejected the ruling, describing it as “unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable,” and said it would appeal CAF’s decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a bid to overturn the decision.
A statement from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) said that Morocco’s decision to appeal the final result was “never intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams” but was instead a request for 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,” the FRMF statement added.
CAF’s decision hands the North Africans their second AFCON title, following their first triumph in 1976.
