Sema Fonkem 18 March 2026

Football fans have expressed their disgust over a decision by Confederation of African Football (CAF) to hand over the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 championship title to Morocco.

On Tuesday, March 17 2026 CAF announced it has reached an agreement on an appeal filed by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation to contest Senegal’s AFCON 25 Triumph.

According to the press release published by CAF following a boardroom decision, Morocco has now won the AFCON 2025 off-pitch by 3 – 0 over Senegal.

Senegal had originally won the competition by beating Morocco 1 – 0 in the final match on January 18 2026, when the Senegalese National Team players walked off the pitch and returned after 30 minutes.

CAF stated that the Senegalese national team violated Article 82 and Article 84 regulations. According to Article 82, if a team refuses to play and leaves the pitch before the finish of the match time without the referee’s permission, they will be declared the competition’s losers and eliminated. Article 84 supplements this clause, stating that any team that violates Article 82 shall be permanently eliminated and will lose the match 3-0.

Fans of African football throughout the world are wondering if the referees and CAF management were unaware of the Articles 82 and 84 guidelines before allowing the final match on January 18 2026 to continue.

The Senegalese Football Federation say it will appeal CAF’s ruling.

Although CAF has handed AFCON 2025 win to Morocco, the Senegalese Football Federation has grounds to appeal.

The referee has final authority on the pitch and represents CAF laws during a game. The Senegalese Football Federation may have a strong argument.