Afcon Final Chaos - Key Questions Answered
ByKatharine Sharpe
BBC Sport senior reporter
18 March 2026
The already disorderly story of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations last had another chapter included when the Confederation of African Football (Caf) overturned the outcome.
Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the last on 18 January, but that scoreline has been officially changed to a 3-0 triumph to Morocco as a result of several Senegalese players strolling off the pitch in demonstration throughout the match.
What do we understand - and what do not we understand - about why the decision was made, what occurs next, and what it indicates?
What happened in the Afcon last?
With ball game 0-0 in the eighth minute of stoppage time in Rabat, referee Jean-Jacques Ndala granted Morocco a charge for an obstacle by El Hadji Malick Diouf on Brahim Diaz.
Moments previously, Ndala had eliminated a Senegal objective.
After the penalty was offered, Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw motivated his group to leave the field in demonstration, with only Sadio Mane staying.
The match was paused for 17 minutes, throughout which Mane motivated his team-mates to return.
When they did, Diaz's Panenka-style penalty was easily conserved by Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy - and the match went to extra time, when Pape Gueye scored Senegal's winning goal.
During the match, there were clashes in between Moroccan ball young boys and Senegal reserve goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf, as he consistently tried to prevent them from stealing Mendy's towel from next to the goal.
Videos revealed Diouf being tackled to the ground by 3 of the ball young boys then dragged around on the flooring as he tried to keep hold of the towel so Mendy might dry his gloves.
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Who made the choice to reverse the outcome - and what do the rules in fact state?
Caf's appeal board launched a statement on 17 March - practically 2 months after the final - revealing Senegal would forfeit the match and Morocco would be declared 3-0 winners after an appeal from the Moroccan Football Federation.
The appeal board is made up of nine people - a president, vice-president and 7 other members.
They are all from different African countries, with Morocco and Senegal not currently represented.
The appeal board statement said Senegal has actually contravened short articles 82 and 84 of the competition guidelines.
Article 82 states that if a group "leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee", they are eliminated.
Article 83 states that a group "not present at the ground" on time for a match will likewise surrender.
Article 84 states a team contravening articles 82 and 83 will be gotten rid of from the competitors.
It is unclear from the wording whether short articles 82 and 83 requirement to be broken for a team to be gotten rid of, and it appears Senegal have actually been penalised for contravening only article 82.
Will Senegal appeal - and how would that work?
The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) has said it will appeal versus the decision - explaining the decision as "a travesty".
Abdoulaye Seydou Sow - secretary general of the FSF - stated the organisation would lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) in Switzerland.
An independent panel of accredited arbitrators will then review the case.
Raymond Hack - the former head of Caf's disciplinary panel - informed BBC World Service the procedure could take another 6 months to conclude, which would imply it would be ongoing during the World Cup.
Will there be a new prize presentation - and what takes place to the medals?
There has actually not been a statement on whether Morocco will have their own trophy event.
There are also questions about what will happen to the winner's medals that were handed to Senegal gamers in January, and the tournament cash prize of $10 million.
Several members of the Senegal group have actually published photos of their medals on social networks given that the result was reversed.
"What do you do?" Hack said on BBC World Service. "Call all the gamers back and say: 'Please give your medal back ... please provide your reward money back ... I want to give it to someone else.'
"Nobody's going to do that up until the Court of Arbitration makes a final judgment."
What will occur with betting payouts?
Questions have likewise been inquired about what betting companies will do - and whether individuals who backed Morocco will have their bets honoured.
Paddy Power, SkyBet and Betfair and a variety of other providers who have paid out bets on Morocco, however it is not yet clear what will take place to those put with other bookies.
Which other events were referenced in the ruling?
The statement from Caf also included these other choices developing from the last:
An appeal by Morocco versus Ismael Saibari being condemned of misconduct in violation of posts 82 and 83 was promoted and his suspension lowered to two matches.
An appeal by Morocco versus the fine imposed on the ball kids was partially maintained and the fine reduced.
An appeal by Morocco against being condemned of disturbance around the OFR/VAR evaluation location was dismissed and the fine remains in location.
An appeal by Morocco versus an incident with a laser pen was partly supported, with the great minimized.
What has the reaction been?
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) initially provided a brief declaration when the news of the judgment broke, declaring "its technique has never ever been intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams getting involved in this competitors, but exclusively to request the application of the competition's regulations".
An updated statement on Wednesday stated that the result would contribute "to the consistency and credibility of global competitors, particularly African football."
The Senegalese government, on the other hand, required an "independent international examination" into "believed corruption" at African football's governing body.
BBC Sport has called Caf for comment.
The FSF had earlier knocked the "unfair, unmatched, and choice, which casts a shadow over African football".
It said the appeal to Cas was vital to "protect its rights and the interests of Senegalese football".
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