Controversy: Two official reports support Morocco's desktop consecration in the African Cup of Nations

The final of the 2025 African Cup of Nations continues to be shrouded in controversy after the decision of the African Football Confederation (CAF) decided to take the title away from Senegal and award it to Morocco. In the last few hours, while awaiting the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) on the incident, the African body received two official reports supporting the Moroccan coronation

.

These are the referee report and the report of the party's commissioner, two key documents that agree in pointing to the abandonment of the Senegalese team as the determining point of the scandal. The first describes the interruption of the match after the penalty sanctioned in favor of Morocco, while the second details the incidents, the time the game was stopped and the impact that the players' departure had on the normal development of the

final.

The report of the general coordinator of the match, Khaled Lemkecher, was overwhelming: "The players went to the locker room, leaving the game “, making it clear that only Sadio Mané remained on the field during that episode.

Along the same lines, Olivier Safari, president of the CAF Referees Committee, explained one of the decisions taken in the midst of the chaos: "Every Senegalese player who retired should have been reprimanded immediately upon returning to the field, but we gave instructions not to do so to preserve the match and avoid its premature

end.”

Based on these elements, the CAF opened a disciplinary case and will move forward with a comprehensive analysis of the case. In Morocco, they consider that these reports consolidate their position and reinforce the legitimacy of the decision adopted by the

agency.

Now, the definition is left to the TAS, which must evaluate the facts and issue a definitive ruling in one of the most controversial episodes of recent African football.

The origin of the controversy

The episode that triggered the conflict occurred in the final minutes of the final, when a penalty sanctioned in favor of Morocco generated a protest from the Senegalese squad and their subsequent momentary withdrawal from the field. After a few minutes, the match resumed, the penalty was saved, and Senegal ended up winning the scoreboard later, thus giving it the continental title

.

However, two months after the final, a CAF ruling reversed the sporting result that had favored Senegal in the extension and gave up the match 3-0, making Morocco champion. According to the resolution, Senegal violated articles 82 and 84 of the regulations, labeling the episode as "administrative inappearance

”.