Morocco have been awarded a 3-0 win in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations final after Senegal were sensationally stripped of the title in an unprecedented ruling. The Confederation of African Football (Caf) announced on Tuesday evening that its appeal board had decided that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final” that was held in Rabat in January.
The forfeit stems from an incident during the match when Senegal’s head coach, Pape Thiaw, and some of his players left the pitch for 15 minutes in protest at Morocco being awarded a penalty. They eventually returned after being implored to by captain Sadio Mané, with Brahim Díaz’s subsequent spot-kick being saved to send the final into extra time, where Pape Gueye scored the winning goal.
At an initial disciplinary hearing, Caf imposed fines of more than $1m and bans for Senegal and Morocco players and officials but left the result untouched. However, the appeal board ruled that Senegal had infringed article 82 of the regulations and forfeited the match. Senegal are expected to appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Moussa Niakhaté, who played in the final, appeared to hit out at Caf’s decision. “Come and get them,” the Lyon defender wrote on his Instagram account with a picture of him holding the Afcon trophy. “They are crazy.” Almost a million supporters had lined the streets of Dakar to celebrate Senegal’s second Afcon title a day after the final.
The Moroccan football federation said in a statement: “The federation wishes to recall that its approach has never been intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams participating in this competition, but solely to request the application of the competition’s regulations. The federation reaffirms its commitment to respecting the rules, ensuring clarity in the competitive framework, and maintaining stability within African competitions.”
