Explained! Why Senegal were stripped of AFCON title and Morocco declared champions

In a shocking twist, Senegal have been stripped of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 title, and Morocco have been declared the winners of the tournament. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Tuesday, March 17, overturned the decision of the final played between the two teams and stripped the original winners, Senegal, of the title based on a fresh ruling.

Senegal were stripped of the title for their infamous walkout in the final, which was played on January 18. The decision comes after an appeal from the Moroccan football association (FRMF). For the unversed, Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final at the Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat to clinch the AFCON 2025 title.

However, the match was marred by a controversy. The final was overshadowed by Senegal players’ decision to walk off the pitch after Morocco were awarded a penalty in injury time, with the final goalless at the time. The match was delayed for 17 minutes after Senegal players left the field in protest against the penalty decision.

Brahim Diaz missed the penalty for Morocco before Pape Gueye scored in extra time for Senegal to seal a 1-0 victory for them in the final. However, the CAF has overturned the decision of the final. Senegal have been declared to have “forfeited” the final match due to their walkout decision, and Morocco have been declared the winners with a 3-0 margin.

What happened in the AFCON 2025 final?

Senegal locked horns with Morocco in the AFCON 2025 final at the Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on January 18. The match was goalless after normal 90 minutes. In the injury time, Morocco were awarded a decisive penalty with the game at 0-0. Unhappy with the referee’s decision to award a penalty to Morocco, the Senegal players decided to protest by leaving the pitch.

The Senegal players left the pitch on the instructions of coach Pape Thiaw, who was also against the penalty decision. The walkout resulted in a delay of around 17 minutes as the game had to be stalled. The players eventually returned to the pitch after 17 minutes and the game resumed.

Brahim Diaz stepped up to take the penalty for Morocco and ended up missing. The match was then pushed into extra time. Gueye scored in the extra time to help Senegal win the final 1-0 and lift the trophy. However, Morocco appealed to CAF’s Appeal Board against the result of the final.

Why Senegal were stripped of the AFCON 2025 title?

Following Morocco’s appeal, the CAF Appeal Board gave a verdict in their favour. The CAF Appeal Board in a statement said that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

The CAF Appeal Board deemed Senegal guilty of breaching Article 82 of the regulations of the AFCON, as a result of which Article 84 was also triggered. The Article 82 of the AFCON regulations states that if any team refuses to play or leaves the ground before the end of regulation time without the referee’s permission, they will be considered the losing team and will be eliminated from the competition.

The Article 84 of the AFCON regulations upholds Article 82. Article 84 states that any team that breaches Article 82 should be considered permanently eliminated from the competition and will lose the match 3-0.

Based of the Article 82 and Article 84 in the AFCON regulations, the CAF Appeal Board overturned the decision of the AFCON 2025 final in the favour of Morocco, declaring that Senegal ‘forfeited’ the game by deciding to walk out of the pitch without the referee’s permission.

While acknowledging the CAF’s decision, the Moroccan football federation said that they didn’t not intend to challenge the sporting performance in the final, but wanted the competition’s regulations to be applied.

“The federation reaffirms its commitment to respecting the rules, ensuring clarity in the competitive framework, and maintaining stability within African competitions,” the FRMF said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Senegalese Football Federation has said that it will challenge CAF’s decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The Senegalese Football Federation called the CAF’s decision to overturn the result of the final “unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable”.