The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed on Wednesday that it has received an official appeal from the Senegalese Football Federation, protesting the decision of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to strip Senegal of the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 title and award it to Morocco.
This move comes after CAF’s decision, issued on March 17, which considered the Senegalese team to have withdrawn from the final match and awarded a 3–0 victory to Morocco.
The Senegalese side, through this appeal, aims to overturn the continental body’s decision and retain the title, insisting on the result achieved on the pitch, where they won 1–0 after extra time in the match held in Rabat.
The roots of the dispute trace back to the final moments of regular time, when a penalty was awarded to Morocco following a VAR review. This sparked protests from Senegalese players, who left the field before later returning to complete the match. Brahim Díaz missed the penalty, and the game went into extra time, where the “Lions of Teranga” secured a 1–0 victory.
In the first reactions, Senegalese authorities strongly rejected CAF’s decision, describing it as “unfair and contrary to regulations,” and called for an independent international investigation into what they described as suspicions of corruption within the continental body.
For its part, CAS stated that proceedings will be conducted swiftly, while guaranteeing the rights of all parties to a fair hearing, as fans and observers await the final decision that will settle the controversy over the identity of the tournament’s champion.
