By Our Reporter
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially awarded the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco following a ruling by its Appeal Board declaring Senegal to have forfeited the final match.
In a decision announced on Tuesday, the CAF Appeal Board ruled that Senegal forfeited the final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, with the result recorded as a 3–0 victory in favour of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF).
The ruling followed an appeal lodged by the Moroccan football federation, challenging an earlier decision by the CAF Disciplinary Board. The Appeal Board upheld the appeal, set aside the previous ruling, and found that Senegal’s conduct during the match violated Articles 82 and 84 of the competition’s regulations.
Recall that the final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations between Morocco and Senegal, played on February 11, 2025, turned controversial following a disputed penalty decision in the second half that triggered protests from Senegalese players and officials. The incident led to a prolonged VAR review and heated confrontations on the pitch, after which Senegalese players walked off the field in protest, causing a major interruption to play.
“The Senegal National Team is declared to have forfeited the match, with the result recorded as 3–0 in favour of Morocco,” CAF stated.
The board also upheld Morocco’s protest, ruling that the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football had breached tournament regulations through the actions of its team.
In addition to the forfeiture ruling, CAF issued a series of sanctions related to incidents during the match. Moroccan player Ismaël Saibari was found guilty of misconduct but had his penalty reduced to a two-match suspension, with one match suspended. A previously imposed $100,000 fine on the player was set aside.
CAF also held the Moroccan federation responsible for the conduct of ball boys during the match, reducing the associated fine to $50,000. However, a $100,000 fine for interference around the VAR review area was upheld, while a separate fine related to a laser incident was reduced to $10,000.
All other appeals and requests for relief were dismissed.
The decision effectively confirms Morocco as champions of the 2025 AFCON, bringing an end to the dispute surrounding the final match.
