CAF rules Morocco won AFCON 2025 with 3-0 scoreline, orders Senegal to forfeit trophy

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has declared Morocco winners of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, which had, until the recent decision, been won by Senegal.

Senegalese players briefly walked out of the pitch in protest after a penalty decision was made against them in the final minutes of regulation time in the final match played on January 18, 2026 in Morocco's capital, Rabat.

Morocco's Brahim Diaz, who had been brought down in the penalty area, missed from the spot, taking the match to extra-time.

Pape Gueye scored Senegal's solitary goal early in extra-time, resulting in The Teranga Lions being crowned champions of AFCON 2025, their second AFCON trophy in history, after their win against Egypt in 2021.

Morocco's appeal

Following the result of the recent final in Rabat, the hosts, Morocco, filed an appeal with CAF, stating that Senegal's decision to walk out of the pitch technically brought the match to a premature end, and, therefore, Morocco should have been declared the winner.

In a statement on Tuesday, CAF agreed with Morocco's argument, and ruled: "The Senegal national team is declared to have forfeited the final match of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025, with the result of the match being recorded as 3–0 in favour of Morocco."

In their petition, Morocco cited Articles 82 and 84 of the Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Article 82 states: "If, for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report for a match, or refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered loser and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition."

Morocco's second AFCON trophy in history

Article 84, on the other hand, states: "The team which contravenes the provisions of Article 82 shall be eliminated for good from the competition. This team will lose its match by 3-0 unless the opponent has scored a more advantageous result at the time when the match was interrupted, in this case this score will be maintained."

In its ruling, CAF said: "The CAF Appeal Board further finds that the conduct of the Senegal team falls within the scope of Articles 82 and 84 of the Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations. The protest lodged by Morocco is upheld. (Therefore), the Senegal team is declared to have forfeited the match, with the result recorded as 3–0 in favour of Morocco."

Neither the Moroccan nor the Senegalese national team had officially reacted to CAF's decision by publication time.

However, should Senegal feel aggrieved by the decision, it can file an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which is the final and independent authority in sports disputes, including on competition rulings such as forfeits and eligibility.

Morocco's CAF-declared win now grants them their second AFCON trophy in history, after winning the 1976 edition of the tournament.