Morocco was awarded a 3-0 victory by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) appeal board after Senegal was deemed to have forfeited the match.
The decision followed an appeal lodged by the Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), which was deemed admissible and ultimately upheld.
The final, played on 18 January, had initially ended in a 1-0 win for Senegal after Pape Gueye scored in extra time. However, the match was overshadowed by a major controversy late in normal time. With the score at 0-0, Morocco were awarded a stoppage-time penalty, prompting Senegal’s players to walk off the pitch in protest.
The delay lasted approximately 17 minutes before play eventually resumed. Brahim Diaz stepped up to take the penalty, but his effort was saved.
READ: CAF issues heavy fines on Senegal and Morocco for AFCON 2025 final chaos
Despite the miss and the eventual continuation of the game, CAF later ruled that Senegal’s temporary refusal to continue constituted a breach of tournament regulations.
According to Article 82 of the AFCON rules, any team that refuses to play or leaves the field without the referee’s approval is automatically considered to have lost.
Article 84 further stipulates that such a violation results in a forfeiture and a 3-0 defeat. CAF concluded that Senegal’s actions met these criteria, triggering the disciplinary outcome.
“The federation reaffirms its commitment to respecting the rules, ensuring clarity in the competitive framework, and maintaining stability within African competitions,” the FRMF statement read.
“It also wishes to commend all the nations that took part in this edition of the Afcon, which has been a major moment for African football.”
The Senegalese Football Federation has strongly condemned the ruling, describing it as “unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable,” and confirmed plans to challenge the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.