Morocco declared 3-0 winners after appeal is upheld
Senegal’s players walked off pitch over penalty call
Morocco have been awarded a 3-0 victory in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations final after Senegal were sensationally stripped of the title in an unprecedented ruling.
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) announced on Tuesday evening that its appeal board had decided that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final” that was held in Rabat in January after head coach, Pape Thiaw, and some of his players left the pitch for 15 minutes in protest at Morocco being awarded a penalty. They eventually returned after being implored to by captain Sadio Mané, with Brahim Díaz’s subsequent spot-kick being saved to send the final into extra time when Pape Gueye scored the winning goal.
At an initial disciplinary hearing, Caf imposed fines of more than $1m and bans for Senegal and Morocco players and officials but left the result untouched. But in a statement, it confirmed that Senegal had been stripped of their title. The statement read: “The Caf appeal board decided 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, with the result of the Match being recorded as 3–0 in favour of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF).
