The drama has continued to unfold after African football governing house, the Confederation of Football, CAF, took a widely contested decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 AFCON title, MySportDab reports.
In a rare and highly controversial judgement, CAF Disciplinary Committee upheld Morocco’s appeal to declare them champions of the 2025 AFCON tournament after their final opponents Senegal walked off the pitch in protest of the referee’s decision to award a late penalty to the Atlas Lions.
Harping on extant rules governing the game, CAF found Senegal guilty as indicted, declared Morocco champions, and ordered Senegal to return to the AFCON trophy to the Moroccans.
According to Daily Mail, Morocco have decided not to honor that decision, describing it as ‘corrupt’ and ‘unjust,’ hence will not handover the title to the Moroccans.
To follow up their reaction to the CAF verdict, they have moved to appeal the judgment at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), with hope to have the verdict overturned.
Notably, CAF’s verdict has been met with heavy backlash from top footballers, pundits, FAs, and football fans, who deemed it unfathomable and strange.
While Senegal’s decision to walk off the field was heavily criticized, returning to the field to play, complete, and win the match is believed to have been enough to settle any grievances as to who is the winner of the competition.
Moreover, the decision coming almost two months after the tournament has further weighed heavily on the credibility of the judgment. All eyes will now be on the Court of Arbitration’s judgement, with Senegal still in custody of the title pending verdict on their appeal.
