Senegal have been sensationally stripped of their Africa Cup of Nations title after the Confederation of African Football awarded Morocco a 3-0 win in the final following a walkout protest. The ruling, announced on Tuesday evening, declared that Senegal forfeited the match, which was held in Rabat in January, after head coach Pape Thiaw and several players left the pitch for 15 minutes.
The protest came after Morocco were awarded a penalty. The Senegalese players eventually returned at the urging of captain Sadio Mané, and Brahim Díaz's subsequent spot-kick was saved, taking the final to extra time, where Pape Gueye scored the winning goal. Despite this, Caf's appeal board ruled that Senegal's conduct violated article 82 of the competition's regulations.
Caf had initially imposed fines exceeding $1 million and bans on players and officials from both teams, but left the result unchanged. However, after an appeal, the board applied article 84, recording the result as 3-0 in favour of Morocco. Senegal are expected to appeal against the decision to the court of arbitration for sport.
Lyon defender Moussa Niakhaté, who played in the final, appeared to criticise the ruling on Instagram, posting a picture of him holding the Afcon trophy with the caption: 'Come and get them. They are crazy.' Almost a million supporters had lined the streets of Dakar to celebrate Senegal's second Afcon title the day after the match.
Morocco, who had not won the competition since 1976 and were heavy favourites as hosts, issued a statement reaffirming their commitment to respecting the rules and maintaining stability in African competitions. The Moroccan football federation said its approach was never intended to challenge sporting performance but solely to request the application of regulations.
