Governing body’s appeal board rules Senegal forfeited January final after players’ walked off pitch to protest referring decision.
Published On 17 Mar 2026
African football’s governing body has stripped Senegal of the Africa Cup of Nations title they won in a chaotic final two months ago and declared Morocco champions.
In a stunning decision, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said on Tuesday its appeals board ruled that Senegal is “declared to have forfeited” the match, a 1-0 victory. The result, it said, was now “being officially recorded as 3-0” in favour of host nation Morocco.
At the January 18 final in Rabat, Senegal’s players walked off the pitch, led by coach Pape Thiaw, in protest against a penalty awarded late in regulation time to Morocco.
When play resumed after a delay of about 15 minutes, Morocco forward Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved. In extra time, Pape Gueye scored the decisive goal that saw Senegal becoming champions of Africa for the second time.
The heated final also saw supporters trying to storm the field, players scuffling on the sidelines, reporters from the two countries fighting in media areas and a bizarre sequence in which Moroccan ball boys tried to seize a towel being used by Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy – in an apparent bid to distract him and help their team win the continental title.
At a disciplinary hearing in January, CAF imposed fines of than $1m in fines and bans for Senegal and Morocco players and officials but left the result untouched.
The case could go to a further appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
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2026-03-17 17:57:33
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