Senegal to appeal ‘unjust’ stripping of AfCON title to Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne

This has never happened in the history of football to reverse an already crowned title

* The Switzerland-based independent body which settles sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation

* This decision is a travesty that rests on no legal basis. We felt that the panel was not there to apply the law, but to carry out an order

* I am shocked by this decision, because as a person who sat on the CAF Appeals Board for SIX YEARS, I know that the Appeals Board does not have the power to change the on-field decision of a referee

Maravi Express

Senegal have been stripped of the Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) 2025 title by Confederation of African Football (CAF) and awarded it to Morocco, overturning the result of the final following Senegal’s controversial walk-off.

But Senegal Football Federation have indicated that they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, the Switzerland-based independent body which settles sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation.

“The Senegalese Football Federation condemns this unjust, unprecedented and unacceptable decision, which brings African football into disrepute,” said the FA in a statement.

Any appeal by Senegal to CAS in Lausanne would typically take about a year to reach a verdict — long after both teams play at the FIFA World Cup 2026 being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, which means Morocco will go to the US as African champions.

Morocco were grouped Brazil, Scotland and Haiti. while Senegal are in a group with France, Norway and a playoff bracket winner this month which could be Iraq.

Under coach Walid Regragui at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Morocco became the first African team ever to reach the semifinals, but Regragui left the job two weeks ago following fierce criticism for not winning the AfCON title, saying “the team needs a new lease of life before the World Cup”.

Senegal maintains that “to defend its rights and the interests of Senegalese football, the federation will, as soon as possible, file an appeal with CAS,”while a statement from Morocco’s Federation (FRMF), said their decision to appeal the final result was “never intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams” but was a request for the “application of the competition’s regulations”.

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

On its media platform, CAFonline, the continent’s football governing body cited article 82 of tournament regulations for its marquee event to justify the verdict enforced on appeal, though not at the first hearing — which states that ‘if, for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report for a match, or refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered loser and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition’.

However, a former member of the CAF competitions technical teams, posted on X that he was shocked by the African football governing body’ decision, “saying as a person who sat on the CAF Appeals Board for SIX YEARS, I know that the Appeals Board does not have the power to change the on-field decision of a referee”.

Still, the appeal verdict did seem to override the referee’s authority making field-of-play decisions. On the appeal by the FRMF regarding the application of Articles 82 and 84 of the Regulations of the CAF AfCON), it was declared admissible — citing that the conduct of the Senegal team falls within the scope of Articles 82 and 84 of the AfCON Regulations.

What happened in the AfCON final?

With the scoreline 0-0, referee Jean Jacques Ndala gave a spot-kick in the eighth minute of added time after he was advised by the video assistant referee (VAR) to consult the pitchside monitor and review defender El Hadji Malick Diouf’s challenge on Brahim Diaz.

Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw, still incensed by Ndala’s decision a few moments earlier to disallow a Senegal goal from Ismaila Sarr, ushered his team off the field — but former Liverpool striker Sadio Mane stayed on the pitch and tried to encourage his Senegal team-mates to finish the game.

After a 17-minute delay, Senegal’s players did eventually return and the Real Madrid forward, Diaz, was trusted with the penalty, but his tame ‘Panenka’ effort was caught by Senegal keeper Edouard Mendy who barely had to move, and Ndala immediately blew his whistle for full-time.

Villarreal midfielder Gueye then scored the winning goal in the fourth minute of extra time to seal a second triumph in five years for Senegal.

In his post-match news conference, Morocco coach Walid Regragui said Senegal’s actions were “shameful” and do not “honour Africa” while FIFA president Gianni Infantino strongly condemned the “ugly scenes” in a post on Instagram.

Thiaw, meanwhile, had his media briefing cancelled after a ruckus broke out in the press room but in a later post-match interview he accepted that he should not have ordered his team off the field and he had reacted “in the heat of the moment”.

Maher Mezahi, a North African football journalist, told BBC Radio 5 Live that the decision to overturn the result will not change the emotional impact of what unfolded on the pitch for those who witnessed it.

“We cannot erase the final 16 minutes of that match and what we saw,” he said. “We cannot erase the feelings of seeing Senegal lift the trophy and the players going home with the medal and them having a parade.”

Tension in the stadium was already raised by Senegal being denied a goal minutes before the penalty was given to Morocco. In the second minute of stoppage time, Senegal’s apparent go-ahead goal was ruled out for a foul by Abdoulaye Seck, but TV replays showed little contact on Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi.

At an initial disciplinary hearing, CAF imposed fines of more than $1 million and bans for Senegal and Morocco players and officials but left the result untouched.

Senegal defender Moussa Niakhaté on Instagram posted an image of himself holding the trophy with a message that said: “Come and get it! They’re crazy!” — while Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, secretary general of the Senegalese Football Federation, said they “will not back down” on the appeal and called the ruling a “shame for Africa”.

“The law is on our side,” Sow told the public broadcaster Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise late Tuesday. “This decision is a travesty that rests on no legal basis. We felt that the panel was not there to apply the law, but to carry out an order.”

The verdict Tuesday awards Morocco its first African title since 1976 and denied Senegal its second title, and second within three editions after also lifting the trophy in 2021.—Reporting by SuperSport, BBC Africa Sport, CNN, CAFonline; edited by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express