Media outlets across Europe and Africa have reacted with disbelief, with headlines calling the move “The joke of the century.” Two months after a tumultuous final, the CAF appeal jury has overturned the result. A statement released Tuesday announced the decision to “declare the Senegalese national team forfeited during the final,” with the result officially recorded as a 3-0 victory for Morocco.

The Senegalese government and football federation have mounted a swift response. Marie Rose Khady Fatou Faye, the executive’s spokesperson, stated, “Senegal unequivocally rejects this unjustified attempt at dispossession.” The federation will appeal, and the government has called for an international inquiry into what it calls “suspicions of corruption within the governing bodies of the CAF.”

The Role of Articles 82 and 84 of the Africa Cup of Nations Regulations

The Senegalese federation condemned the ruling as “an unjust, unprecedented, and unacceptable decision that casts discredit on African football.” It confirmed it would launch “an appeal procedure before the Court of Arbitration for Sport” in Lausanne, Switzerland, “as soon as possible.”

Speaking to the Senegalese newspaper Le Soleil, FSF Secretary General Abdoulaye Sow vowed not to surrender the trophy. “The CAF is rotten, the reactions around the world after this decision confirm total indignation… The fight is far from lost. I want to reassure all Senegalese. Senegal has right and victory on its side. The cup will not leave the country.”

The controversy stems from the final match on January 18. With the game tied in additional time, Morocco was awarded a penalty for a contentious foul by Diouf on Brahim Diaz. The Senegalese players were incensed, arguing that a penalty call in their favor had been overlooked moments before.

In the ensuing chaos, Senegal’s coach, Pape Thiaw, instructed his players to leave the field at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium in Rabat. Amid widespread confusion and altercations in the stands where Senegalese supporters threw projectiles, only Sadio Mané remained on the pitch. After a 15-minute interruption, play resumed. Brahim Diaz missed the penalty, and later, Pape Gueye scored with a superb left-footed strike to win the championship for Senegal.

After nearly two months of silence on the matter, the CAF’s sudden announcement came as a shock. On Tuesday evening, the organization declared Senegal’s forfeiture, stating: “The CAF appeal jury, in application of Article 84 of the CAN regulations, declares the national team of Senegal forfeited during the final of CAN 2025, with the result being approved as a 3-0 score in favor of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.”

Article 84, which details the sanction, is linked to the offense described in Article 82. This rule states that “if, for any reason, a team leaves the field before the regulatory end of the match without the referee’s authorization, it will be considered the loser and will be definitively eliminated from the current competition.”

The Wydad Casablanca Precedent

In its official response, the Moroccan football federation acknowledged the decision in favor of the Atlas Lions, clarifying that “its approach was never intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams involved in this competition, but only to request the application of the competition’s regulations.”

A source close to the Moroccan Federation highlighted a similar case in another African competition. In 2019, Espérance Sportive de Tunis was awarded the CAF Champions League title three months after Wydad Casablanca players walked off the field during the final to protest a VAR malfunction. This development in Sahel current affairs continues to unfold.

This decision follows prior disciplinary actions. In late January, the CAF disciplinary jury had already issued fines totaling several hundred thousand euros to both nations’ federations for unsportsmanlike conduct. Meanwhile, the appeal trial for 18 Senegalese supporters, imprisoned since the final and sentenced for “hooliganism,” was postponed until March 30.