Afcon final chaos – key questions answered

March 18, 2026 No Comments

Afcon final chaos – key questions answeredByKatharine SharpeBBC Sport senior journalistPublished20 minutes agoThe already chaotic story of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final had another chapter added when the Confederation of African Football (Caf) overturned the result.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January, but that scoreline has been officially changed to a 3-0 victory to Morocco as a result of several Senegalese players walking off the pitch in protest during the match.

What do we know – and what don’t we know – about why the decision was made, what happens next, and what it means?

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What happened in the Afcon final?

Morocco's Brahim Diaz (L) the tournament's top scorer, Senegal's Sadio Mane (C) the tournament's best player, and Morocco's Yassine Bounou (R) the tournament's best goalkeeper — Image caption,

Morocco’s Brahim Diaz (left) looked distraught as he accepted the tournament’s Golden Boot award after missing his penalty

With the score 0-0 in the eighth minute of stoppage time in Rabat, referee Jean-Jacques Ndala awarded Morocco a penalty for a challenge by El Hadji Malick Diouf on Brahim Diaz.

Moments earlier, Ndala had ruled out a Senegal goal.

After the penalty was given, Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw encouraged his team to leave the field in protest, with only Sadio Mane remaining.

The match was paused for 17 minutes, during which Mane encouraged his team-mates to return.

When they did, Diaz’s Panenka-style penalty was easily saved by Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy – and the match went to extra time, when Pape Gueye scored Senegal’s winning goal.

During the match, there were clashes between Moroccan ball boys and Senegal reserve goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf, as he repeatedly attempted to prevent them from stealing Mendy’s towel from next to the goal.

Videos showed Diouf being tackled to the ground by three of the ball boys then dragged around on the floor as he tried to keep hold of the towel so Mendy could dry his gloves.

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Who made the decision to overturn the result – and what do the rules actually state?

Caf’s appeal board released a statement on 17 March – almost two months after the final – announcing Senegal would forfeit the match and Morocco would be declared 3-0 winners after an appeal from the Moroccan Football Federation.

The appeal board is made up of nine people – a president, vice-president and seven other members.

They are all from different African nations, with Morocco and Senegal not currently represented.

The appeal board statement stated Senegal has contravened articles 82 and 84 of the competition regulations.

Article 82 states that if a team “leaves the ground before the regular end of the mach without the authorisation of the referee”, they are eliminated.

Article 83 states that a team “not present at the ground” on time for a match will also forfeit.

Article 84 states a team contravening articles 82 and 83 will be removed from the competition.

It is not clear from the wording whether articles 82 and 83 need to be broken for a team to be eliminated, and it appears Senegal have been penalised for contravening only article 82.

Will Senegal appeal – and how would that work?

The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) has stated it will appeal against the verdict – describing the decision as “a travesty”.

Abdoulaye Seydou Sow – secretary general of the FSF – stated the organisation would lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) in Switzerland.

An independent panel of accredited arbitrators will then review the case.

Raymond Hack – the former head of Caf’s disciplinary panel – told BBC World Service the process could take another six months to conclude, which would mean it would be ongoing during the World Cup.

Will there be a new trophy presentation – and what happens to the medals?

There has not been an announcement on whether Morocco will have their own trophy ceremony.

There are also questions about what will happen to the winner’s medals that were handed to Senegal players in January, and the tournament prize money.

Several members of the Senegal team have posted pictures of their medals on social media since the result was overturned.

“What do you do?” Hack stated on BBC World Service. “Call all the players back and say: ‘Please give your medal back… please give your prize money back… I want to give it to somebody else.’

“Nobody’s going to do that until the Court of Arbitration makes a final ruling.”

What will happen with betting payouts?

Questions have also been asked about what betting companies will do – and whether people who backed Morocco will have their bets honoured.

Paddy Power have paid out on those who had bets on Morocco, but it is not yet clear what will happen to bets placed with other providers.

Which other incidents were referenced in the ruling?

The statement from Caf also included these other decisions arising from the final:

An appeal by Morocco against Ismael Saibari being found guilty of misconduct in violation of articles 82 and 83 was upheld and his suspension reduced to two matches.
An appeal by Morocco against the fine imposed on the ball boys was partially upheld and the fine reduced.
An appeal by Morocco against being found guilty of interference around the OFR/VAR review area was dismissed and the fine remains in place.
An appeal by Morocco against an incident with a laser pen was partially upheld, with the fine reduced.

What has the reaction been?

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) has provided a short statement claiming “its approach has never been intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams participating in this competition, but solely to request the application of the competition’s regulations”.

An updated statement is expected on Wednesday.

The Senegalese government, meanwhile, called for an “independent international investigation” into “suspected corruption” at African football’s governing body.

BBC Sport has contacted Caf for comment.

The FSF had earlier denounced the “unfair, unprecedented, and unacceptable decision, which casts a shadow over African football”.

It stated the appeal to Cas was essential to “defend its rights and the interests of ⁠Senegalese football”.

This article is the just in from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.

Afcon final chaos – key questions answered

Get in touch

What happened in the Afcon final?

Who made the decision to overturn the result – and what do the rules actually state?

Will Senegal appeal – and how would that work?

Will there be a new trophy presentation – and what happens to the medals?

What will happen with betting payouts?

Which other incidents were referenced in the ruling?

What has the reaction been?

More questions answered…

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Get in touch

What happened in the Afcon final?

Who made the decision to overturn the result – and what do the rules actually state?

Will Senegal appeal – and how would that work?

Will there be a new trophy presentation – and what happens to the medals?

What will happen with betting payouts?

Which other incidents were referenced in the ruling?

What has the reaction been?

More questions answered…

Related topics

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