Confederation of African Football has officially awarded the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco after its appeal board ruled that Senegal forfeited the final following a successful protest by the Moroccan football federation.
The ruling, announced on Tuesday, reversed an earlier disciplinary decision and declared the final match a 3–0 victory in favour of Morocco under Article 84 of the tournament regulations. According to the appeal board, Senegal breached competition rules when its players temporarily left the field during the final in protest over a refereeing decision before later returning to complete the game.
In its decision, the appeal board stated that Senegal’s national team was deemed to have forfeited the match, with the official result now recorded as a 3–0 win for Morocco. The board also held that the Senegalese team’s conduct violated Article 82 of the competition rules, which governs team behaviour during official matches.
The decision means Morocco, who hosted the tournament, are recognised as champions despite originally losing the final 1–0 after extra time in Rabat
The appeal ruling also reviewed several disciplinary sanctions linked to incidents during the match.
Moroccan midfielder Ismaël Saibari had his suspension reduced to two official CAF matches, with one of those matches suspended, while a previous $100,000 fine imposed on him was removed.
CAF also reduced Morocco’s financial penalty over misconduct involving ball boys to $50,000 and lowered the sanction linked to laser incidents to $10,000. However, a separate $100,000 fine connected to interference around the VAR review area was upheld.
The final had originally ended in Senegal’s favour after a tense contest overshadowed by protests, confrontations and stoppages late in the game. Senegal’s temporary walk-off became the central issue in Morocco’s appeal, which the CAF appeal board ultimately accepted.
Senegal’s football authorities have indicated they intend to challenge the verdict further at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, keeping the controversy alive across African football
