Senegal cries foul as CAF awards CAN 2025 title to Morocco amid corruption claims

The news, a major story for Africa news outlets, was met with shock and disbelief. Headlines in the Panafrican press ranged from “This is not April 1st” to “The joke of the century,” as the football world reacted to the verdict. Two months after a turbulent final, the CAF appeals jury overturned Sénégal’s on-field victory. In a communiqué, the body stated it had decided to “declare the national team of Sénégal forfeit during the final,” with the result being officially recorded as a 3-0 win for Morocco.

The Senegalese government and football federation have mounted a vigorous defense. On Wednesday, the government called for an international inquiry into what it perceives as potential corruption within CAF. “Sénégal unequivocally rejects this unjustified attempt at dispossession,” declared executive spokesperson Marie Rose Khady Fatou Faye. The Senegalese federation echoed this sentiment, announcing its intention to appeal the decision, which it described as “unjust, unprecedented, and unacceptable” and a move that “discredits African football.”

The basis of the ruling: articles 82 and 84 of the Africa Cup of Nations regulations

The federation confirmed it would promptly initiate “an appeal procedure before the Court of Arbitration for Sport” in Lausanne, Switzerland. Abdoulaye Sow, the FSF’s secretary general, defiantly told the newspaper Le Soleil that the trophy would not be handed over to Morocco. “CAF is rotten… The fight is far from over. I want to reassure all Senegalese. Sénégal has right and victory on its side. The cup will not leave the country.”

The controversy stems from events during the final on January 18. In the additional time of the second period, with the score still 0-0, Morocco was awarded a contentious penalty for a foul on Brahim Diaz. The Senegalese players, already angered by a denied penalty claim in the other box moments earlier, protested vehemently. Their coach, Pape Thiaw, instructed his players to leave the pitch, leading to a chaotic scene with altercations in the stands. After a 15-minute interruption, play resumed. Brahim Diaz missed the subsequent penalty, and Pape Gueye later scored to secure the win for Sénégal.

CAF’s decision to declare Sénégal forfeit is based on Article 84 of the CAN regulations, which refers to the infraction detailed in Article 82. This rule states that “if, for any reason, a team leaves the field of play before the regulatory end of the match without the referee’s authorization, it will be considered to have lost and will be definitively eliminated from the current competition.”

The Wydad Casablanca precedent

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation issued a statement acknowledging the decision, clarifying that its “approach was never intended to contest the sporting performance of the teams… but only to request the application of the competition’s regulations.”

This situation is not without precedent in African football. In 2019, Espérance Sportive de Tunis was declared the winner of the CAF Champions League three months after the final, when players from Wydad Casablanca abandoned the match to protest a VAR system failure.

Prior to this title reversal, CAF’s disciplinary jury had already imposed sanctions on both federations in late January for unsportsmanlike conduct, including fines amounting to several hundred thousand euros. Meanwhile, the appeal trial for 18 Senegalese supporters, who were arrested after the final and received prison sentences for hooliganism, has been postponed to March 30.