Morocco Awarded AFCON 2025 Title as CAF Appeal Board Sanctions Senegal

By Kunle Solaja.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeal Board has awarded the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title to the Morocco national football team after ruling that the Senegal national football team forfeited the final match of the tournament.

In a landmark decision announced on Wednesday, the CAF Appeal Board invoked Article 84 of the AFCON Regulations to declare Senegal to have forfeited the final played at the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025, with the result officially recorded as 3–0 in favour of Morocco.

The ruling followed an appeal lodged by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football, challenging the earlier decision of CAF’s Disciplinary Board.

Appeal Upheld, Earlier Decision Overturned

CAF confirmed that Morocco’s appeal was admissible and upheld, leading to the overturning of the Disciplinary Board’s initial ruling.

The Appeal Board found that the conduct of the Senegal team fell within the scope of Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON Regulations, and that the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football, through its team’s actions, had breached the competition rules.

As a result:

• Senegal was declared to have forfeited the final match
• Morocco was awarded a 3–0 victory
• All other claims by Senegal were dismissed

Sanctions and Additional Rulings

The CAF Appeal Board also issued several decisions relating to incidents during the final:

Player Misconduct

• Moroccan midfielder Ismaël Saibari was found guilty of misconduct.
• His punishment was reduced to a two-match suspension, with one match suspended.
• A previously imposed $100,000 fine was cancelled.

Ball Boys Incident

• Morocco was held responsible for the conduct of the ball boys.
• The fine was reduced to $50,000.

VAR/Referee Interference

• The Appeal Board upheld a $100,000 fine against Morocco for interference around the VAR review area.

Laser Incident

• The fine imposed on Morocco was reduced to $10,000.

All other appeals and motions were dismissed.

Major Implications

The decision represents one of the most dramatic rulings in AFCON history, effectively overturning the outcome of a continental final through regulatory enforcement.

By applying Articles 82 and 84, CAF reinforced its position on disciplinary compliance and match conduct, with the forfeiture ruling handing Morocco the title without the need for a replay.

The ruling also underscores CAF’s willingness to impose severe sanctions, including match forfeiture, where teams are found to have breached competition regulations.

Final Outcome

• Morocco: Declared AFCON 2025 champions (3–0 awarded win)
• Senegal: Final forfeited due to regulatory breaches

The decision brings a definitive end to the dispute surrounding the AFCON 2025 final, with Morocco officially crowned champions of Africa.

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