Confederation of African Football’s Appeal Board has ruled that the Senegal national football team forfeited the final match of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025, awarding a 3–0 victory to the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF). This is because the Senegal Footbal team walk of the football field when the match was ongoing in protest against the host nation’s unholy behaviour from players and football fans. .
The decision overturns an earlier ruling by the CAF Disciplinary Board and effectively declares Morocco the winner of the tournament final.
The ruling followed an appeal filed by the FRMF challenging the earlier disciplinary decision and requesting the application of Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON Regulations.
According to the Appeal Board, the actions of the Senegalese team during the final fell within the scope of violations under these regulations. As a result, the board concluded that the match should be recorded as a forfeit against Senegal, leading to a 3–0 official result in favor of Morocco.
Key findings by the CAF Appeal Board include:
- The appeal by the FRMF was declared admissible and upheld.
- The previous CAF Disciplinary Board decision was set aside.
- The Senegal national team was found to have violated Article 82 of AFCON regulations.
- Under Article 84, Senegal was declared to have forfeited the final match.
- The official result of the match was recorded as 3–0 in favor of Morocco.
This ruling confirms Morocco’s victory in the TotalEnergies AFCON Morocco 2025 Final, one of the most controversial decisions in recent African football history.
Disciplinary Measures Related to the Match
In addition to the decision on the match result, the CAF Appeal Board also addressed several disciplinary issues related to incidents that occurred during the final.
Player Misconduct: Ismaël Saibari
The board partially upheld the appeal concerning Ismaël Saibari, a player for the Morocco national team.
The Appeal Board confirmed that Saibari committed misconduct under Articles 82 and 83(1) of the CAF Disciplinary Code, but reduced the sanctions.
Revised disciplinary measures include:
- Two-match suspension, with one match suspended.
- The USD 100,000 fine was cancelled.
Ball Boys Incident: CAF also confirmed that the FRMF bears responsibility for the behavior of ball boys during the final match.
However, the Appeal Board reduced the sanction, lowering the fine to USD 50,000
VAR Area Interference: The board rejected the appeal regarding interference around the On-Field Review (OFR) / VAR review area.
As a result, The USD 100,000 fine against the FRMF remains in force.
Laser Incident: another appeal concerning a laser incident involving spectators was partially upheld. The original fine imposed on the FRMF was reduced to USD 10,000.
The ruling by the CAF Appeal Board highlights the governing body’s willingness to enforce its regulations strictly in order to protect the integrity of African football competitions.
Declaring a team to have forfeited an AFCON final is an extremely rare and significant disciplinary action, making the Morocco 2025 final one of the most controversial in the tournament’s history.
The decision reinforces the authority of CAF’s regulatory framework and underscores the importance of compliance with competition rules by national teams and football federations.
With the Appeal Board’s decision now finalized, the TotalEnergies AFCON Morocco 2025 final result stands officially recorded as a 3–0 victory for Morocco after Senegal was declared to have forfeited the match.
The ruling also clarifies disciplinary responsibilities related to player conduct, stadium management, and match-day incidents, sending a strong message about accountability in African football governance.
