The Confederation of African Football Appeal Board has officially awarded the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco after ruling that Senegal forfeited the final match.
The decision follows a successful appeal by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football which challenged an earlier ruling by CAF’s Disciplinary Board over incidents that occurred during the final.
According to CAF, Senegal’s conduct breached Articles 82 and 84 of the competition regulations leading to the forfeiture of the match and a 3 0 victory awarded to Morocco. The ruling also found that the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football violated Article 82 through the actions of its team thereby validating Morocco’s protest.
In a related decision Moroccan player Ismaël Saibari was found guilty of misconduct. However his sanction was reduced to a two match suspension with one match suspended while a previously imposed 100000 dollar fine was cancelled.
CAF also addressed off field incidents involving Morocco holding the federation accountable for the conduct of ball boys. The fine for this was reduced to 50000 dollars. Meanwhile a 100000 dollar fine for interference around the VAR review area was upheld and a separate sanction related to a laser incident was reduced to 10000 dollars.
All other motions in the case were dismissed bringing closure to one of the most controversial finals in Africa Cup of Nations history.
The ruling ends a prolonged dispute that had cast uncertainty over the tournament outcome and underscores CAF’s commitment to enforcing its regulations in high stakes competitions.
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