The result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final has been dramatically overturned, with Morocco now awarded a 3-0 victory over Senegal following a ruling by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The decision comes 57 days after the final, which Senegal had originally won 1-0 after extra time.
CAF confirmed that its appeal board upheld a complaint from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.
The governing body ruled that Senegal had forfeited the match due to a breach of competition regulations.
The sanction means the final score has been officially recorded as a 3-0 win for Morocco. No additional sporting penalties were announced beyond the forfeiture.
The ruling centres on events that unfolded late in the match. Morocco were awarded a stoppage-time penalty, which triggered protests from Senegal’s players.
The Senegal team briefly left the pitch during the delay, with only captain Sadio Mane remaining. Play was halted for more than 15 minutes before the players returned.
Morocco’s Brahim Diaz subsequently missed the penalty after the restart. Senegal then scored what appeared to be the winning goal through Pape Gueye deep into stoppage time.
However, CAF’s appeal board determined that Senegal’s walk-off constituted a violation of Article 82 of the AFCON regulations.
That rule states that a team forfeits a match if it leaves the field without the referee’s permission. Under Article 84, the result of such a forfeiture is automatically recorded as a 3-0 defeat.
CAF confirmed that this regulation had been applied in full when reaching its decision. The appeal board also dismissed all other requests related to the case.
The incident had already drawn strong criticism at the time. FIFA president Gianni Infantino described Senegal’s actions as ‘unacceptable’ following the match.
The final was also marred by crowd disturbances during the prolonged delay.
Morocco’s federation maintained that its appeal was focused on enforcing the rules rather than challenging Senegal’s performance.
The outcome represents one of the most controversial rulings in recent AFCON history.
The decision reinforces CAF’s stance on adherence to regulations during matches.
For Senegal, it marks a bitter conclusion to a final they had originally believed they had won on the pitch.
