{"id":91096,"date":"2026-03-18T14:59:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T14:59:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/caf-decision-to-strip-senegal-of-afcon-draws-criticism"},"modified":"2026-03-18T15:29:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T15:29:07","slug":"caf-decision-to-strip-senegal-of-afcon-draws-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/caf-decision-to-strip-senegal-of-afcon-draws-criticism","title":{"rendered":"CAF decision to strip Senegal of AFCON draws criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; South-Sudan. <\/strong><\/span>The decision by the Confederation of African Football Appeals Board to award the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco at the expense of Senegal continues to spark intense debate across the continent.<\/p>\n<p>Following the final between Senegal and Morocco, the Appeals Board ruled in favour of Morocco, awarding them a 3\u20130 administrative victory. The decision triggered a wave of contrasting reactions \u2014 celebration in Morocco and outrage in Senegal.<\/p>\n<p>Morocco cites compliance with regulations<\/p>\n<p>The Royal Moroccan Football Federation welcomed the ruling, stressing that its appeal was based solely on regulatory grounds rather than sporting merit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe FRMF wishes to recall that its approach has never aimed to contest the sporting performance of the teams participating in this competition, but solely to request the application of the competition\u2019s regulations,\u201d the federation said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Federation reaffirms its commitment to respecting the rules, ensuring clarity in the competitive framework, and maintaining the stability of African competitions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the media front, Moroccan players also appeared satisfied with the outcome. Brahim Di\u0301az, who plays for Real Madrid, was seen smiling after a UEFA Champions League match, seemingly pleased by the news.<\/p>\n<p>Senegal denounces \u201cunfair\u201d decision<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, Senegalese issued a strongly worded statement condemning the ruling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Senegalese Football Federation denounces an unfair, unprecedented, and unacceptable decision that undermines African football.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The FSF noted that the sanction was based on an interpretation of Articles 82 and 84 of the regulations, which led to the match being declared forfeited. Rejecting the outcome, the federation confirmed its next step:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo defend its rights and the interests of Senegalese football, the Federation will promptly file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Players react with anger and defiance<\/p>\n<p>Reactions from Senegal\u2019s international players on social media revealed deep frustration. Defender Moussa Niakhate\u0301 was particularly outspoken, saying: \u201cThey\u2019re crazy&#8230; come and take this trophy then!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Midfielder Papiss Cisse\u0301 also defended the team\u2019s achievement, insisting: \u201cWe are the real champions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Former FSF president Augustin Senghor echoed that sentiment, declaring that Senegal would \u201ckeep its trophy no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>International criticism grows<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the two nations involved, the CAF decision has drawn criticism from across the global football community.<\/p>\n<p>Veteran coach Claude Le Roy suggested there may have been undue influence behind the ruling. \u201cI think there was a lot of manipulation behind the decision to crown Morocco champions. I feel like Morocco can do whatever they want,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Former France international Patrice Evra also voiced his concern: \u201cIt\u2019s sad. The Africa Cup has completely lost its credibility, but the true champion remains Senegal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, ex-France midfielder Samir Nasri criticised both the timing and logic of the decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere was the referee in all this? This administrative verdict discredits CAF once again. It might have been understandable on the night of the match \u2014 but now it\u2019s becoming ridiculous,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>What comes next?<\/p>\n<p>As tensions remain high, the next phase of the dispute will move to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where Senegal is expected to challenge the ruling.<\/p>\n<p>Amid legal battles, media exchanges, and sharply divided public opinion, the controversy has now extended far beyond the pitch, raising broader questions about governance and credibility in African football.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">South-Sudan<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; South-Sudan. The decision by the Confederation of African Football Appeals Board to award the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco at the expense of Senegal continues to spark intense debate across the continent. Following the final between Senegal and Morocco, the Appeals Board ruled in favour of Morocco, awarding them a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":91095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[2369,269,2380,233],"class_list":["post-91096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-afcon","tag-morocco","tag-senegal","tag-south-sudan"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>CAF decision to strip Senegal of AFCON draws criticism - South Sudan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The decision by the Confederation of African Football Appeals Board to award the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Mor ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/caf-decision-to-strip-senegal-of-afcon-draws-criticism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CAF decision to strip Senegal of AFCON draws criticism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The decision by the Confederation of African Football Appeals Board to award the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Mor ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/caf-decision-to-strip-senegal-of-afcon-draws-criticism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Sudan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-18T14:59:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-18T15:29:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2026\/03\/sm_1773833959.603472.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"717\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/caf-decision-to-strip-senegal-of-afcon-draws-criticism#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/caf-decision-to-strip-senegal-of-afcon-draws-criticism\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"CAF decision to strip Senegal of AFCON draws criticism\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-18T14:59:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-18T15:29:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/caf-decision-to-strip-senegal-of-afcon-draws-criticism\"},\"wordCount\":557,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/caf-decision-to-strip-senegal-of-afcon-draws-criticism#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2026\/03\/sm_1773833959.603472.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"AFCON\",\"Morocco\",\"Senegal\",\"South-Sudan\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/caf-decision-to-strip-senegal-of-afcon-draws-criticism#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/caf-decision-to-strip-senegal-of-afcon-draws-criticism\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/caf-decision-to-strip-senegal-of-afcon-draws-criticism\",\"name\":\"CAF decision to strip Senegal of AFCON draws criticism - 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