´We won on the pitch, not the offices´ – Gueye slams ´ridiculous´ decision to strip Senegal of AFCON

Idrissa Gueye has slammed the “ridiculous” decision to strip Senegal of the Africa Cup of Nations title and award it to Morocco, saying the Lions of Teranga would win January’s final 10 times out of 10 if it was to be replayed.

Senegal lifted the AFCON trophy following a bad-tempered final against the tournament hosts two months ago, with Pape Gueye scoring the only goal in extra time.

But their triumph came after a chaotic end to regulation time, when many Senegal players – already infuriated by Ismaila Sarr having a goal disallowed – stormed off the field after El Hadji Malick Diouf conceded a penalty for holding Brahim Diaz in the box.

After a long delay, Senegal’s players returned and play resumed with the Morocco penalty, with Diaz’s terrible Panenka attempt being caught by Edouard Mendy.

Morocco launched an appeal to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and last week, the governing body overturned the result and announced Morocco as 3-0 winners.

The CAF said Senegal had breached Article 82 of their regulations, which states that if a team refuses to play or leaves the field before the end of regulation time without the referee’s authorisation, they should be eliminated from the competition.

Multiple former players, including 1995 Ballon d’Or winner George Weah, have criticised the decision, while several members of the Senegal squad responded by posting images of their AFCON medals on social media.

Everton midfielder Gueye was scathing of the ruling but added that Senegal’s on-pitch success would be remembered by fans, even if CAF’s ruling stands.

“I think this decision is just ridiculous. We won the game on the pitch, not in the offices, and as a Senegalese player, I’m just proud of what we did,” Gueye said.

“We deserve this trophy. We fought on the pitch, and everyone knows what happened. I think if we played this game 10 times, we would win it 10 times.

“Not because we are better than Morocco, but because it was our destiny – we gave everything on the pitch, and we deserve to be champions.

pic.twitter.com/OnUyctgueW

— Equipe du Sénégal (@GaindeYi) March 17, 2026

“We really don’t care about medals, about trophies, because the most important thing is on the pitch, not what you write on paper. On the pitch, we won it, and no one can change this.”

Gueye also believes the ruling will have a negative effect on the global reputation of Africa’s premier international tournament.

He added: “Africa doesn’t need this type of decision because everyone has started to talk about AFCON and compare it against Europe and the Copa America. I think Africa doesn’t deserve this.”