The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially stripped Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title.
The CAF Appeal Board on Tuesday, March 17 overturned the results of the final played on Sunday, January 18, awarding a retrospective 3-0 victory to the host nation, Morocco.
The decision stems from the dramatic events at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
During a tense final, a controversial VAR-awarded penalty for Morocco in the 90+8th minute sparked a furious protest from the Senegalese bench.
Under the instruction of head coach Pape Thiaw, the Teranga Lions walked off the pitch, causing a 14-to-17-minute delay.
While the squad eventually returned—and even went on to “win” the match 1-0 in extra time via a Pape Gueye goal—CAF has ruled that the initial act of leaving the field constituted a forfeit.
In a press release, the CAF Appeal Board cited Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON Regulations.
Article 82 relates to general misconduct and the responsibility of national associations for the behavior of their teams while .Article 84 states that if a team refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of a match without the referee’s permission, they shall be considered the loser and be eliminated from the competition.
“The CAF Appeal Board has decided that the Senegal National Team is declared to have forfeited the Final Match… with the result of the Match being recorded as 3–0 in favour of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF).”
The ruling is a crushing blow to Senegal, who believed they had secured their second continental star.
The Fédération Sénégalaise de Football (FSF) is expected to file an urgent appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, arguing that because they returned to the pitch and finished the game, the “forfeit” clause should not apply.
For Morocco’s Atlas Lions, it will officially be their first AFCON title since 1976, though the circumstances remain among the most controversial in the tournament’s 69-year history.