Morocco crowned AFCON champions after CAF strip Senegal of title

Morocco have been declared the winners of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) overturning the result of the final.

Senegal defeated Morocco 1-0 in the showpiece on January 18, thanks to Pape Gueye’s goal, but it was a match overshadowed by drama.

The Senegal players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a penalty deep in stoppage time, with the match goalless, walking off the pitch.

It took around 17 minutes for them to return to the field, but Brahim Diaz’s spot-kick was saved before Gueye went on to net the winner in extra time.

Due to the walk-off, the result of the tournament has now been overturned by the CAF, who released that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

The decision follows an appeal by the Moroccan FA, which CAF said is “declared admissible in form” and was upheld, with Senegal infringing on Article 82 of AFCON regulations.

The CAF Appeal Board decided that in application of Article 84 of the Regulations of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the Senegal National Team is declared to have forfeited the Final Match of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 (“the Match”),…

— CAF Media (@CAF_Media) March 17, 2026

Article 82 states that if a team refuses to play or leaves the field before the end of regulation time without the referee’s authorisation, they will be eliminated from the competition.

Following the decision, Morocco released a statement saying: “The Federation wishes to recall that its approach has never been intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams participating in this competition, but solely request the application of the competition’s regulations.

Morocco are now two-time AFCON champions, with Senegal now down to one title after being stripped of the 2025 accolade.