The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has sparked a continental firestorm after stripping Senegal of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title, retroactively awarding the trophy to hosts Morocco.
In a move described by critics as a “dangerous precedent”, the CAF Disciplinary Board overturned the result of the final held on 18 January.
Although Senegal won the match 1-0 on the pitch in Rabat, officials have now declared Morocco 3-0 winners by forfeit.
The decision centres on a 17-minute protest during the final, where Senegalese players walked off the pitch to contest a late penalty awarded to the hosts.
Although the squad returned and the match was completed, CAF ruled on 17 March that the walk-off constituted a technical abandonment.
The ruling has drawn stinging rebukes from high-profile figures across the globe. Villarreal manager Marcelino García Toral launched a scathing attack on the governing body, defending his midfielder Pape Gueye, who scored the extra-time winner in the final.
“In the offices, they take your title away just to give it to someone else,” Marcelino told reporters on Wednesday. “For me, Senegal is the African champion. The one who deserves to win, wins on the pitch—and that’s all there is to it.”
Former England captain Wayne Rooney echoed those sentiments, labelling the administrative intervention “crazy”.
“If I was a Morocco player, I wouldn’t accept it,” Rooney said. “Senegal beat them fair and square.”
The controversy has also raised serious questions regarding the integrity of football governance in Africa.
Former CAF Vice President Kwesi Nyantakyi argued that the board has fundamentally misinterpreted its own disciplinary code.
He pointed out that under Law 5 of the Laws of the Game, the referee is the sole judge of facts.
Because the official allowed play to resume and blew the final whistle normally, Nyantakyi insists the result must stand.
“Football is played in the open and watched by millions,” Nyantakyi warned. “If results can be changed in boardrooms without clear justification, serious credibility issues will arise.”
The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) has remained defiant, labelling the ruling “unprecedented and unacceptable”.
Sources suggest the federation is refusing to return the $10 million (£7.8m) prize money or the physical trophy.
The FSF has confirmed it will take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, seeking to have the original 1-0 result reinstated.
As it stands, Morocco are the official champions of Africa, but for many fans and professionals, the 2025 tournament remains a crown without a king
