Senegal To Appeal CAF AFCON Award To Morocco

The Senegalese Football Association has confirmed it will appeal the decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to strip them of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title.

CAF announced on Wednesday night that its Appeal Board had overturned the AFCON final result in favour of Morocco after finding Senegal guilty of walking off the pitch.

During the AFCON final on 18 January in Morocco, Senegal walked off in protest after the hosts were awarded a penalty following a disputed incident in which Senegal believed they had scored.

However, Senegal talisman Sadio Mané eventually persuaded his teammates to return to the field after a stoppage of nearly 20 minutes.

Almost the entire Senegal side had left the pitch, with Mané the only player remaining. After play resumed, Senegal went on to win the match, with Pape Gueye scoring a stunning goal to decide the contest.

Following the incident, the CAF Disciplinary Committee fined Senegal coach Pape Thiaw USD 100,000 and suspended him for five CAF matches, to be served during the 2027 AFCON qualifiers.

Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi received a two-match suspension, with one of those matches suspended for a year due to unsporting behaviour. His teammate, Ismaël Saibari, was initially handed a three-match suspension and fined USD 100,000 for unsporting conduct.

In its ruling, CAF stated:

“The CAF Appeal Board decided that, in application of Article 84 of the Regulations of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the Senegal national team is declared to have forfeited the final match of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 (‘the match’), with the result recorded as 3–0 in favour of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF).”

This decision followed an appeal by the Moroccan FA, which argued that Senegal should be stripped of the title for abandoning the field of play. The Appeal Board upheld the protest, set aside the earlier Disciplinary Board decision, and ruled that Senegal’s conduct breached Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON regulations.

The board further confirmed that:

• Morocco’s appeal was admissible and upheld.
• Senegal, through the conduct of its team, infringed AFCON regulations.
• The match was forfeited, with a 3–0 result awarded to Morocco.

Regarding individual sanctions and other incidents, CAF ruled that:

• Ismaël Saibari’s suspension was reduced to two CAF matches, with one suspended, and his USD 100,000 fine was отменed.
• Morocco was held responsible for the conduct of ball boys, with the fine reduced to USD 50,000.
• A USD 100,000 fine for interference around the OFR/VAR review area was upheld.
• A fine related to a laser incident was reduced to USD 10,000.

All other motions were dismissed.

The Senegalese FA has since confirmed it will challenge the ruling, with the case potentially heading to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland.