Morocco Crowned AFCON Champions After Senegal Stripped Of Title

Last Updated:March 18, 2026, 07:37 IST

Morocco crowned Africa Cup of Nations winners after Senegal stripped of title. CAF ruled Senegal forfeited the game because of footballers leaving the field.

In what has come as a bizarre turn of events, Morocco have been crowned the Africa Cup of Nations winners after Senegal were stripped of their title, with the Confederation of African Nations taking the massive decision on Tuesday.

Multiple Senegalese footballers walked off the field in Rabat during Sunday’s final on January 18, protesting after the host country was awarded a penalty in stoppage time of the second half.

After being persuaded back onto the field by skipper Sadio Mané, Senegal saw Morocco miss the late penalty and Pape Gueye scored in extra time to bag a 1-0 win for his team.

CAF announced that after reviewing Morocco’s appeal, “the Senegal national team is deemed to have forfeited the match" with the result recorded as a 3-0 victory over Senegal for Morocco.

The CAF Appeals Committee cited Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON Regulations, which stipulate that any team “that refuses to play or leaves the field before the match ends without the referee’s permission shall be deemed the loser and permanently eliminated from the current competition."

The articles add that the team contravening the regulations “will lose its match by 3-0".

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation stated that its appeal “wasn’t meant to challenge the sporting performance of the teams in the competition, but solely to ensure the proper application of the tournament regulations."

“The Federation reaffirms its commitment to respecting the rules, to the clarity of the competitive framework and to the stability of African competitions," the statement said.

In the final minutes of the match, some Senegalese fans tried to storm the field, while Senegal’s footballers paused the game for almost 20 minutes in protest of Morocco’s late penalty.

The contentious penalty was given by Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala in the final moments of the eight minutes of added time, after a VAR review of a challenge by El Hadji Malick Diouf on Brahim Diaz.

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