In a stunning reversal, the Confederation of African Football announced on Tuesday that Morocco has been declared the winner of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations following incidents during the final match. Sénégal, which had initially won on the field, was ruled to have forfeited, resulting in a 3-0 loss.
In a remarkable turn of events, the outcome of the CAN final held in Rabat on January 18 has been officially overturned. Despite Sénégal’s initial victory in a tumultuous match that saw the Senegalese team temporarily walk off the field in protest, the CAF has upheld a complaint filed by Morocco. In a statement released on Tuesday, the African football governing body confirmed the decision. “The Appeal Jury of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has decided, in application of Article 84 of the Africa Cup of Nations Regulations, to declare the national team of Sénégal forfeit for the final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, with the result being ratified as a 3-0 score in favor of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation,” the CAF announced.
The CAF’s appeal jury determined that the Senegalese team’s actions fell under the purview of Articles 82 and 84 of the tournament’s regulations. Specifically, Article 82 states that “if, for any reason, a team leaves the field before the regulatory end of the match without the referee’s authorization, it will be considered the loser and will be definitively eliminated from the current competition.”
Consequently, the jury invoked Article 84, which outlines the penalties for such an infraction. This article specifies that “the team that violates the provisions of Articles 82 and 83 will be permanently excluded from the competition” and that it “loses the match 3-0.”
In response to the decision, the Moroccan Federation issued a measured statement, clarifying its position. The federation noted via a communiqué “that its approach was never intended to contest the sporting performance of the teams involved in this competition, but solely to request the application of the competition’s regulations.”
