Senegal STRIPPED of AFCON 2025 Title After Walkout; Morocco Crowned Champion

AFCON 2025: In a stunning turn of events, Senegal was stripped of their AFCON 2025 title and Morocco were crowned the new champions. This development took place after an appeal over the result of the final was upheld by ​the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Tuesday.

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On January 18, Senegal was ruled to have forfeited the game in ⁠the Moroccan capital Rabat because it walked off the pitch in protest at a potentially decisive penalty awarded against them.

Upset with the decision, the Senegalese Football ‌Federation (SFF) ⁠said it would now be taking the matter to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for ⁠Sport, seeking to overturn Tuesday’s decision.

“This is a travesty; this decision is based on absolutely nothing. It has no legal foundation,” Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, the Secretary General of SFF, told state broadcaster RTS1.

“And from what we saw this morning when the hearing began, we already ​had serious doubts — clearly, the judge did not ‌come to rule on the case, he came to carry out orders.

“The president of the federation will get in touch with the lawyers; we will engage with the appropriate authorities, and then we will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which will issue the final decision.

“We will not back down. ‌Senegalese people should have no doubt. The truth is on Senegal’s side, the law is on ​Senegal’s side.”

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Morocco Acknowledges CAF Call

Now that Morocco has been crowned champions, this becomes the second time they have done it - 50 years after their maiden title five decades ago. 

The Royal Moroccan ⁠Football Federation acknowledged the decision and said that the call was taken to maintain competition regulations properly.

“The Federation reaffirms its commitment to respecting the rules, the clarity of the competitive framework, and the stability of ‌African competitions,” it said in a statement.