Eben Enasco Reporting.
Two months after one of the most chaotic finals in AFCON history, CAF has made its decision and it is a big one.
Senegal have been stripped of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and Morocco have been officially declared champions, with the result of the final recorded as a 3-0 win by forfeit in favour of the hosts.
The match was marred by controversy, most notably Senegal’s decision to walk off the field in protest of both a disallowed goal and a VAR penalty decision in stoppage time.
In its ruling, CAF stated that “the appeal lodged by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football is declared admissible in form and the appeal is upheld” and that “the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football, through the conduct of its team, infringed Article 82 of the Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations.”
The board further ruled that “in application of Article 84 of the Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations, the Senegal team is declared to have forfeited the match, with the result recorded as 3-0 in favour of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football.”
Article 84 states that a team that refuses to play or leaves the field without the referee’s authorisation must be considered the loser.
The ruling also came with financial penalties for Morocco. CAF confirmed that the fine for interference around the VAR review area remained at $100,000, the fine for the ball boys incident was reduced to $50,000 and the fine for the laser incident was reduced to $10,000. On Morocco’s Ismaël Saibari, CAF ruled that he “committed misconduct in violation of Articles 82 and 83 subsection 1 of the CAF Disciplinary Code” and handed him a two-match suspension with one match suspended.
Meanwhile, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee rejected Nigeria’s protest over the eligibility of several players used by Congo DR in last November’s African World Cup playoff, the Nigeria Football Federation announced Monday.
Nigeria’s complaint, which was joined by Cameroon in a separate petition, alleged that between six and nine players used by Congo DR during the qualifying series improperly switched international allegiances.