Morocco have been awarded a 3-0 win in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations final after Senegal were stripped of the title in an unprecedented ruling by the Confederation of African Football (Caf). The decision came after Senegal’s head coach, Pape Thiaw, and some players left the pitch for 15 minutes in protest at a penalty awarded to Morocco.
The incident occurred during the final in Rabat in January. Senegal eventually returned after captain Sadio Mané implored them to, and Brahim Díaz’s penalty was saved, sending the match to extra time, where Pape Gueye scored the winning goal for Senegal. However, Caf’s appeal board ruled that Senegal forfeited the match under article 84 of the competition regulations.
Caf’s statement confirmed the result would be recorded as 3-0 in favour of Morocco, and that Senegal had infringed article 82. The initial disciplinary hearing had imposed fines and bans but left the result unchanged. Senegal are expected to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Senegal defender Moussa Niakhaté, who played in the final, criticised the decision on Instagram, posting a picture of himself holding the 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 final.
Morocco, who had not won the competition since 1976 and were heavy favourites as hosts, said in a statement that their approach was not to challenge sporting performance but to request the application of regulations, reaffirming their commitment to respecting the rules.
