From disappointment on the pitch to a forfeit triumph. Two months after their 1-0 defeat to Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat, a match immediately dubbed "the match of shame," Morocco can celebrate their victory .
The African Football Confederation has accepted the appeal that the Moroccan Football Federation had also presented to FIFA the following day, complaining about the temporary abandonment of the Teranga Lions following the penalty awarded to Morocco at the end of regulation time.
"This situation," the federation emphasized, "had a significant impact on the proper conduct of the match and the players' performance." In a statement, the CAF Appeals Committee announced that it had "decided, in accordance with Article 84 of the Africa Cup of Nations Regulations, to forfeit the Senegalese national team in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final, ratifying the result with a 3-0 victory for Morocco."
The aforementioned rule states that "if, for any reason, a team leaves the pitch before the scheduled end of the match without the referee's permission, it will be considered the loser and will be definitively eliminated from the competition" .
A surreal epilogue: Senegal won in extra time after Brahim Diaz missed a penalty for Morocco in the final minutes of the match. The penalty was awarded after a 15-minute stoppage, as the Senegalese national team left the pitch in protest . "I apologize to football; I shouldn't have withdrawn the team," Senegal coach Pepe Thiaw said immediately after the match, inviting his teammates to return to the locker room after Diaz was awarded the penalty. Senegalese star Sadio Mané managed to calm matters and get his teammates back on the pitch, but for about ten minutes, everything went haywire on the pitch and in the stands. After the Real Madrid player's penalty miss, Pape Gueye scored the decisive goal in extra time, which silenced the stadium in the capital but sparked controversy, so much so that the CAF nevertheless shed light on the incident. Two months later, the decision that changes history and seeks to restore dignity to African football, which had emerged rather badly from the affair.
The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) will appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) . The FSF denounces "this unjust, unprecedented, and unacceptable decision that discredits African football," it said in a statement posted on social media. "To defend its rights and the interests of Senegalese football, the federation will initiate an appeal procedure with the CAS in Lausanne as soon as possible," it added.
(Unioneonline)
