Morocco clinches 2025 AFCON crown as CAF hands over to Senegal
Morocco officially crowned AFCON 2025 champions after CAF strips Senegal of title 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 Confederation of African Football. 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 in favour of 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.