The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has moved from the pitch to the courtroom following a landmark ruling by the CAF Appeal Board that declared Morocco the official winners.
This was in a press release made public by CAF on March 17, 2026. By invoking Article 84 of the tournament regulations, the Board overturned a previous disciplinary decision, declaring that the Senegal National Team had forfeited the final match.
Consequently, the result was recorded as a 3–0 victory for the host nation, Morocco. This dramatic shift was based on an alleged infringement of Article 82, effectively stripping Senegal of the title after the tournament’s conclusion.
In addition to the match forfeiture, the CAF Appeal Board addressed a series of disciplinary incidents involving both teams. For Morocco, player Ismaël Saibari had his heavy USD 100,000 fine set aside, though his two-match suspension for misconduct was confirmed.
The Board also reviewed the conduct of ball boys and laser usage by fans, resulting in reduced fines for the Moroccan federation. However, a significant USD 100,000 penalty was upheld against Morocco for interference around the VAR review area, highlighting CAF’s firm stance on maintaining official match procedures.
The Senegalese Football Federation – FSF has responded with a fierce legal challenge, issuing a formal notice of their intent to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport – CAS.
The FSF argues that the ruling is legally unfounded and “manifestly disproportionate,” particularly because the match referee had originally opted for a temporary suspension rather than a definitive termination. Senegal maintains that because the match resumed, a penalty was taken, and a result was achieved on the field, the “Field of Play Doctrine” must protect the original outcome.
A central point of Senegal’s defense is that Article 84, which pertains to “abandonment,” was misapplied. The FSF contends that an abandonment requires a definitive rupture of the competition, which did not occur as players returned to the pitch and the match was validated by the referee.
They argue that retroactively reclassifying a 15-minute stoppage as a forfeit after the trophy was already presented creates a dangerous precedent that compromises the legal certainty and integrity of continental competitions.
As it stands, the FSF has demanded that CAF freeze any further trophy presentation proceedings for Morocco while they prepare an emergency filing with the CAS in Switzerland.
The federation is seeking an outright annulment of the forfeiture, citing existing CAS jurisprudence regarding ultra vires sanctions. With a 24-hour ultimatum issued to CAF for the release of official match reports, the African football community now awaits a final judicial resolution to determine who truly sits on the throne of the 2025 AFCON.
