AFCON Shock: Morocco Crowned After Dramatic U-Turn
Morocco national football team win AFCON after controversial decision, as CAF overturns result in a dramatic African football controversy.
Morocco has been declared the winner of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. This decision was taken by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), which overturned the result of the final match after Senegal controversially walked off the pitch.
In the final match held on January 18, Senegal had defeated Morocco 1-0. However, the match became embroiled in controversy when the Senegalese players refused to continue playing. This occurred after the host team was awarded a penalty during stoppage time, despite no goals having been scored in the match up to that point.
After a delay of approximately 17 minutes, the players finally returned to the field. Brahim Díaz's penalty attempt was saved, following which Senegal's Pape Gueye scored the decisive goal in extra time to secure victory for his team.
However, that result has now been overturned following a ruling by the Appeals Board of African football's governing body.
A statement from CAF declared that Senegal is "deemed to have lost the final match" and that "the result of the match is recorded as a 3-0 victory in favor of Morocco."
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This decision follows an appeal lodged by the Moroccan Football Association (FRMF). CAF stated that this appeal was "declared formally admissible" and was subsequently upheld.
CAF further stated that, "through the conduct of its team," Senegal had violated Article 82 of the Africa Cup of Nations regulations, and that, as a consequence, Article 84 has been invoked.
Article 82 stipulates that if a team refuses to play or leaves the field before the scheduled time has elapsed without the referee's permission, it shall be deemed to have forfeited the match and shall be disqualified from the competition. Article 84 complements this provision, stating that any team violating Article 82 shall be permanently expelled and shall forfeit the match by a score of 3-0.
A statement from the FRMF noted that their decision to appeal the final result "was never intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams," but rather constituted a request to "enforce the competition regulations."
The FRMF statement further added: "The Federation reaffirms its commitment to upholding the rules, ensuring clarity within the competitive framework, and maintaining stability within African competitions."
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"It also wishes to express its appreciation to all the nations that participated in this edition of Afcon, which has marked a significant moment for African football." The Senegalese Football Federation has not yet issued a comment; however, a video was posted on their men's national team's X account. The video showed their players celebrating during a bus parade with the Afcon trophy, accompanied by an 'OK' emoji.
North African football journalist Maher Mezahi observes that the decision to overturn the match result will not alter the emotional impact that the events on the pitch had on those who witnessed them firsthand.
"We cannot erase the final 16 minutes of that match, nor what we saw unfold," he stated.
"We cannot erase the emotions of watching Senegal lift the trophy, nor the joy of the players returning home with their medals to celebrate in a parade."
What happened in the Afcon final?
With the score tied at 0-0, referee Jean-Jacques Ndala awarded a spot-kick (penalty) in the eighth minute of added time. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) advised Ndala to consult the pitch-side monitor to review a tackle made on Diaz by defender Al Hadji Malik Diouf.
Senegal's head coach, Pape Thiaw—still incensed by an earlier decision by Ndala to disallow a goal scored by Ismaïla Sarr—led his team off the pitch.
Former Liverpool striker Sadio Mané remained on the field and attempted to encourage his Senegalese teammates to complete the match.
After a 17-minute delay, the Senegalese players finally returned to the pitch.
Real Madrid forward Diaz was entrusted with taking the penalty, but his tame 'Panenka' shot was easily gathered by Senegal's goalkeeper, Édouard Mendy; Mendy barely had to move to make the save, and Ndala immediately blew the final whistle.
Subsequently, Villarreal midfielder Gueye scored the decisive goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time, securing a victory for Senegal for the second time in five years.
In the post-match press conference, Morocco coach Walid Regragui stated that Senegal's conduct was "shameful" and did "not respect Africa."
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino strongly condemned these "unsightly scenes" in a post on Instagram.
Meanwhile, Thiaw's media briefing was cancelled due to the significant commotion and chaos that erupted in the press room. However, in a subsequent post-match interview, he admitted that he should not have ordered his team to leave the pitch, acknowledging that he had done so "in the heat of the moment." Subsequently, on March 5, Morocco parted ways with their head coach, Walid Regragui—four months before the World Cup final.
A decision was handed down 10 days after the AFCON final, when CAF announced that fines exceeding $1 million (£750,000) had been imposed and several players had been sanctioned.
However, Morocco appealed, and the matter was referred to CAF's Appeals Board.
Morocco felt that they had been treated unfairly and that the outcome had been overturned—and all of this was based on two specific sections of the Africa Cup of Nations regulations.
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