AFCON fate uncertain as Senegal plan CAS appeal

CAF has stripped Senegal of their TotalEnergies AFCON Morocco 2025 title and awarded Morocco a 3–0 win in the final after upholding an appeal by the host federation, a move Senegal say they will challenge at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).The confederation’s Appeal Board decision, issued March 17, overturns the on-pitch outcome of the final played in Rabat on January 18, which Senegal had won 1–0 after extra time.Senegal’s federation moved quickly to signal a legal fight. Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, the Senegal FA’s secretary general, said: “This is a travesty; this decision is based on absolutely nothing. It has no legal foundation … we will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which will issue the final decision.”Sow added: “We will not back down. Senegalese people should have no doubt. The truth is on Senegal’s side, the law is on Senegal’s side,” calling the ruling “a shame for Africa”.CAF said the Appeal Board declared Senegal to have forfeited the match under tournament regulations, recording a 3–0 victory for Morocco and setting aside an earlier CAF Disciplinary Board decision that had left the sporting result intact.The case stems from a late flashpoint in the final, when the referee awarded Morocco a penalty after a VAR review deep into stoppage time.Senegal left the pitch in protest and did not resume play for around 14 to 15 minutes, before returning and completing the match. Morocco missed the penalty and the game went to extra time, where Senegal scored what had stood as the winner.CAF’s position is that the walk-off itself triggered the forfeiture provisions, regardless of the match subsequently being completed.In its Appeal Board media statement, CAF cited the AFCON regulations that treat a refusal to play, or leaving the field of play before the end of the match without the referee’s authorisation, as a forfeit, with a 3–0 score awarded to the opposing team.Morocco’s federation said its appeal was about enforcing the tournament rules rather than challenging the result on sporting grounds. It said: “This appeal was never intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams participating in this competition, but solely to request the application of the competition’s regulations”.CAF’s ruling ends the internal judicial process within the confederation and effectively pushes the dispute into CAS, where Senegal have said they will file an appeal.A CAS case could take months and, depending on procedure, may run into the next international calendar, although expedited hearings are possible in time-sensitive sporting disputes.The title reversal creates immediate uncertainty around records, prize money treatment, medal and trophy custody, and partner and federation claims tied to the identity of the champion.Sponsors and broadcasters typically price major international tournaments on certainty of outcomes and clean competition narratives, leaving governing bodies exposed when championships are revisited after trophies have been presented and celebrations have been staged.CAF’s Appeal Board also revisited parts of the disciplinary package that followed the final, amending some sanctions while confirming others.CAF said it partially upheld an appeal relating to Morocco midfielder Ismaël Saibari, maintaining a misconduct finding while reducing his sanction to a two-match suspension, with one match suspended, and setting aside a US$100,000 fine that had been imposed on the player.Fines levied against Morocco’s federation were also adjusted in parts of the decision.CAF reduced a fine linked to a “ball boys incident” to US$50,000, and cut a fine related to a laser incident to US$10,000, while confirming a separate US$100,000 fine tied to interference around the on-field review and VAR review area.The regulatory escalation is notable because CAF’s earlier disciplinary process focused on fines and suspensions without altering the result, an approach that limited immediate operational disruption after the final.By changing the champion on appeal, CAF has increased the legal and reputational stakes, particularly if CAS is asked to scrutinise how the confederation interpreted its match abandonment rules and applied proportionality to the sanction.Senegal’s public posture suggests they will argue the match was ultimately completed and that any punishment should have been addressed through sporting sanctions short of a post-event title reversal.Industry attention will also focus on the standard CAF applied to determine whether the walk-off constituted a refusal to play within the meaning of the regulations, and whether the referee’s authority and match reports were decisive in the Appeal Board’s analysis.A CAS appeal could examine not only the substantive decision, but also procedural issues, including timelines, admissibility, evidence standards and whether the confederation’s disciplinary bodies applied consistent reasoning between first instance and appeal.The dispute lands with Morocco due to