Senegal free to challenge AFCON 2025 title ruling, says CAF president

2026-03-19 - 12:43

President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, has said Senegal is free to challenge the decision stripping it of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title, insisting that no country will be given preferential treatment. Recall that controversy arose on Tuesday after CAF overturned the result of the AFCON 2025 final, stripping Senegal of the title and awarding a 3–0 victory to Morocco after upholding an appeal by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. Senegal had initially won the final 1–0 on January 18, courtesy of an extra-time goal, but the match descended into controversy after Senegalese players staged a 15-minute walk-off in protest of a late penalty awarded to Morocco. Citing Article 82 of its regulations, CAF ruled that the action amounted to forfeiture, leading to a reversal of the result. Speaking in a video interview released on Wednesday, Motsepe said all 54 member nations have the right to pursue appeals, including at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). He said, “And I’m told that Senegal is going to appeal, which is very important. Every one of the 54 nations in Africa has a right to pursue their appeals and advance their interests, not only at the highest level in Africa, in CAF, but also at the highest body, which is the Court of Arbitration for Sport. And we will adhere to and respect the decision that’s taken at the highest level.” The CAF president admitted that the fallout from the disputed final between Senegal and Morocco had dented confidence in African football. He described the controversy as part of a longstanding challenge of distrust within African football, particularly around officiating and governance. “I’ve been informed of the ruling by the CAF Appeals Board concerning the appeal by Morocco relating to the AFCON-Morocco 2025 final match, and I previously expressed my extreme disappointment with the incidents that took place at the final match. “The important thing of what happened in that final match is it undermines the good work that CAF has done over many years to ensure that there’s integrity, that there’s respect, that there’s ethics, that there’s governance, as well as credibility of the results of our football matches. “The occurrences at the final match are part of the issues we are still dealing with concerning suspicion and distrust. It’s a legacy issue. “When I became president, one of the major concerns was the impartiality, the independence and the respect of referees and match commissioners. A lot of good work has been done, but there continues to be suspicion because it’s a legacy issue,” he said. Motsepe also acknowledged that the episode had brought renewed attention to the independence of CAF’s judicial bodies. According to him, the federation has since adopted a more transparent approach in appointing members of its disciplinary and appeals committees, drawing nominations from member associations and regional zones. He reiterated CAF’s commitment to fairness across the continent. “It is important that the decisions of our disciplinary board and the CAF appeals board are viewed with the respect and integrity that’s very important to us. But we will still have to deal with perceptions and concerns about integrity. It’s an ongoing issue. The CAF disciplinary board took one decision. The CAF appeals board took a totally different position, “A critical factor is that not a single country in Africa will be treated in a manner that is more preferential or more advantageous or more favourable than any other country on the African continent,” he said.