The CAF Appeals Committee has overturned and changed the result of the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 final and awarded it to Morocco, who hosted the tournament, a 3-0 win by default over Senegal owing to the latter’s breaches of discipline.
According to Articles 82 and 84 of the regulations of the competition, CAF announced that it was an appeal by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) that led to the decision. The committee ruled that Senegal’s behavior during the final justified a forfeit resulting in the annulment of their on-field 1-0 victory.
The final, held on 18th January in Rabat, ended up being a scene of chaos near the closing stages of the second half.
Moroccan penalty, which was highly disputed, happened with the Senegal goal being disallowed just moments before. This led to the protests of Senegalese players, with some of them going off the pitch for a time. There were disturbances among the crowd, with fans trying to get on the field and throwing things.
After Brahim Díaz failed to convert the penalty, the match still went on to extra time, during which Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored the winning goal.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) reacted to CAF’s ruling by pointing out that the appeal was only to make sure that the regulations were properly applied and not to cast doubt on the merits of the competition. The federation declared once again that it supports fair play and this has been followed by their announcement of issuing a formal statement after their internal discussions.
