Afcon Final Chaos - Key Questions Answered

ByKatharine Sharpe
BBC Sport senior reporter


18 March 2026


The already chaotic story of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations last had another chapter included when the Confederation of African Football (Caf) reversed the outcome.


Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the last on 18 January, however that scoreline has actually been officially changed to a 3-0 triumph to Morocco as an outcome of several Senegalese gamers walking off the pitch in protest during the match.


What do we understand - and what don't we know - about why the choice was made, what happens next, and what it indicates?


What happened in the Afcon final?


With ball game 0-0 in the 8th minute of interruption time in Rabat, referee Jean-Jacques Ndala granted Morocco a penalty for a difficulty by El Hadji Malick Diouf on Brahim Diaz.


Moments previously, Ndala had actually eliminated a Senegal goal.


After the charge was provided, Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw motivated his group to leave the field in demonstration, with only Sadio Mane staying.


The match was stopped briefly for 17 minutes, throughout which Mane motivated his team-mates to return.


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


During the match, there were clashes between Moroccan ball young boys and Senegal reserve goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf, as he consistently tried to prevent them from taking Mendy's towel from next to the objective.


Videos showed Diouf being tackled to the ground by 3 of the ball boys then dragged around on the flooring as he tried to keep hold of the towel so Mendy could dry his gloves.


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Who decided to reverse the result - and what do the rules in fact state?


Caf's appeal board released a statement on 17 March - almost 2 months after the final - revealing Senegal would forfeit the match and Morocco would be stated 3-0 winners after an appeal from the Moroccan Football Federation.


The appeal board is comprised of nine people - a president, vice-president and 7 other members.


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


The appeal board statement said Senegal has actually contravened short articles 82 and 84 of the competitors regulations.


Article 82 states that if a group "leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee", they are removed.


Article 83 states that a group "not present at the ground" on time for a match will likewise forfeit.


Article 84 states a group contravening short articles 82 and 83 will be removed from the competitors.


It is not clear from the phrasing whether posts 82 and 83 need to be broken for a group to be gotten rid of, and it appears Senegal have actually been punished for contravening just article 82.


Will Senegal appeal - and how would that work?


The Federation (FSF) has said it will appeal versus the decision - describing the choice as "a travesty".


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


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


Raymond Hack - the previous head of Caf's disciplinary panel - told BBC World Service the procedure might take another six months to conclude, which would indicate it would be continuous during the World Cup.


Will there be a new prize presentation - and what takes place to the medals?


There has actually not been a statement on whether Morocco will have their own trophy ceremony.


There are also concerns about what will happen to the winner's medals that were handed to Senegal players in January, and the tournament cash prize of $10 million.


Several members of the Senegal group have published images of their medals on social media given that the outcome was reversed.


"What do you do?" Hack stated on BBC World Service. "Call all the gamers back and say: 'Please offer your medal back ... please offer your reward money back ... I want to give it to somebody else.'


"Nobody's going to do that up until the Court of Arbitration makes a last ruling."


What will occur with wagering payouts?


Questions have likewise been asked about what betting companies will do - and whether individuals who backed Morocco will have their bets honoured.


Paddy Power, SkyBet and Betfair and a variety of other service providers who have actually paid bets on Morocco, however it is not yet clear what will occur to those positioned with other bookies.


Which other occurrences were referenced in the ruling?


The statement from Caf also consisted of these other decisions developing from the final:


An appeal by Morocco against Ismael Saibari being condemned of misconduct in violation of posts 82 and 83 was upheld and his suspension minimized to two matches.


An appeal by Morocco versus the great troubled the ball kids was partially promoted and the fine lowered.


An appeal by Morocco against being found guilty of disturbance around the OFR/VAR review area was dismissed and the fine remains in place.


An appeal by Morocco against an occurrence with a laser pen was partially supported, with the fine lowered.


What has the response been?


The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) initially supplied a short statement when the news of the judgment broke, claiming "its method has actually never ever been planned to challenge the sporting efficiency of the teams getting involved in this competitors, but solely to request the application of the competitors's policies".


An upgraded declaration on Wednesday said that the outcome would contribute "to the consistency and credibility of global competitors, particularly African football."


The Senegalese federal government, on the other hand, called for an "independent worldwide investigation" into "thought corruption" at African football's governing body.


BBC Sport has gotten in touch with Caf for comment.


The FSF had earlier denounced the "unfair, extraordinary, and unacceptable choice, which casts a shadow over African football".


It stated the attract Cas was necessary to "safeguard its rights and the interests of Senegalese football".


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Morocco


Senegal