“Only in Africa? ”: Morocco declared AFCON champions two months after Senegal lifted the trophy

Senegal have been stripped of their second AFCON title, and it has been awarded to Morocco. (Image credits – Wikipedia, licence details)

The CAF stunned the footballing world as Morocco were awarded the AFCON title on Tuesday by appeals judges who overturned Senegal's victory two months ago. The African Confederation declared that its appeal board stated that Senegal had forfeited the final before appearing on the pitch to play again, as they went on to win 1-0 in extra time. That result has been overturned as a 3-0 win in favour of the host nation, Morocco.

During the final in Rabat, Senegal players, including their head coach Pape Thiaw, had left the field to protest as the referee had added on fifteen minutes during stoppage time by leaving the field for fifteen minutes when the Atlas Lions were awarded a penalty that could've won them the game right then. However, when play resumed, Brahim Diaz missed the spot kick as his panenka attempt was stopped by Edouard Mendy. Senegal went on to score a goal in extra time and lift the AFCON title. The visiting nation was also denied a clear goal moments before the penalty was awarded to Morocco, which escalated the tension within the stadium.

As Senegal had initially decided to walk off from the game when the controversial penalty was awarded, Sadio Mane urged his compatriots to fight irrespective of the adversities and led them back onto the pitch. Upon the conclusion of the tournament, CAF had imposed fines over $1 million and even banned several players from both sides, but the result remained unchanged. However, the CAF overturned the whole result and decided to award the host nation as the AFCON champions. The Senegalese Football Federation has stated that this decision discredited African football and are set to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. However, this process would take around a year to pass a verdict on this case.

While announcing the decision, CAF cited article 82 of tournament rules for AFCON to justify their verdict on crowning Morocco as the champion after two months.

It states, "If, for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report for a match, or refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered a loser and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition.” (sic)

This verdict awarded the Atlas Lions their first ever continental title while denying Senegal its second. They had lifted the trophy twice in the last three editions, previously winning in 2021, beating Egypt in the final on penalties. Both sides are set to feature in the upcoming FIFA World Cup hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, and the tension between the fans of each nation is expected to be hostile ahead of the clash, especially after this AFCON controversy.

Moroccan people celebrated the victory by storming the streets with flags and by honking horns, rejoicing in their nation's first-ever AFCON win, which is a massive moment in their history after they had reached the World Cup semi-final last time in Qatar. 

“The entire Moroccan people are out in every city and everywhere, happy with our cup. The cup has returned to us, the cup that was denied to us," a supporter said in an interview. (sic)

“My friend told me that Morocco had won, and I was so happy. I was sleeping at home when I heard this news, and I was so happy. We're so happy now," another man said. (sic)

However, the reactions were polar opposites in Senegal, as the Senegalese people have been fuming ever since the decision was announced by the CAF. Defender Moussa Niakhate posted an image on his Instagram account of himself holding the AFCON trophy with the caption saying, "Come and get it! They're crazy!” 

Full-back El Hadji Malick Diouf posted on Instagram with the caption, “It's not what I expected; this thing isn't going anywhere.”

Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, the secretary of the Senegalese Football Federation, has refused to accept CAF’s verdict and announced that the confederation will appeal against this injustice.

"Shame for Africa! This decision is a travesty that rests on no legal basis. We felt that the panel was not there to apply the law but to carry out an order," he said. (sic)

This controversy has even gone past football, as Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye changed his social media profile picture, in which he appeared to sit in his office in front of the AFCON trophy, to express his outrage with CAF’s shocking decision. The government has called for an investigation for suspected corruption within CAF after the nation was wrongly stripped of their second title.

However, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation has applauded the decision to award them as the ‘rightful winners’ of the 2025 AFCON title by CAF.

“The FRMF welcomes the decision, which reaffirms the primacy of competition regulations and reinforces the conditions necessary for the proper conduct of international tournaments," the federation said in their statement. (sic)

It further added, “From the outset, following the incidents that led to the interruption of the match, the FRMF maintained a clear and consistent position: the strict application of the governing regulations. The Federation’s approach was solely guided by this principle. Following its appeal, CAF now confirmed that the applicable regulations were not properly enforced.” (sic)

The 2025 edition of the AFCON was filled with controversies on and off the pitch during the tournament, but this dispute between two nations over a trophy that had been decided over two months ago has ignited a fresh controversy which has overshadowed the beautiful game.