By admin 
Few finals in African football history have ended as strangely as this one. Senegal beat host nation Morocco 1-0 in extra time on January 18 to lift the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations — only to be stripped of the title two months later by the very body that ran the tournament.
A final that boiled over
The trouble started in stoppage time, with the score still level at 0-0. Morocco were awarded a penalty that Senegal’s bench felt was unjust, and players briefly walked off the pitch in protest. It took roughly 16 minutes and some visible pleading from Senegalese star Sadio Mane to get his teammates back out for the restart. Morocco’s Brahim Diaz then missed the resulting penalty, and Senegal snatched the win in extra time through a Pape Gueye strike — sending the Lions of Teranga to a second continental title.
The ruling that changed everything
That should have been the end of it. Instead, Morocco’s federation filed a complaint arguing Senegal had violated tournament regulations by leaving the field. On March 17, the CAF Appeals Board agreed, ruling that Senegal had forfeited the final under Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON regulations — rewriting the scoreline as a 3-0 win for Morocco and handing the hosts their first title since 1976.
Senegal’s federation called the decision “unjust, unprecedented, and unacceptable” and confirmed it would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, arguing the ruling undermines the authority of match officials and damages the credibility of African football. The decision has drawn criticism from across the continent, with questions raised about the influence of the Moroccan federation within CAF.
Where Nigeria fit in
The Super Eagles’ tournament ended a step earlier — falling to Morocco 4-2 on penalties in the semifinal after a goalless 120 minutes. Nigeria regrouped to claim bronze, beating Egypt on penalties in the third-place playoff, a respectable finish for a team that has now collected three AFCON titles in its history.
Whatever the Court of Arbitration for Sport ultimately decides, this AFCON will be remembered less for the football and more for the boardroom drama that followed it.
Do you think CAF made the right call, or should the result on the pitch have stood? Let us know in the comments.