Morocco have been declared champions of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after the result of their controversial 1-0 defeat to Senegal in the final was overturned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner for Senegal to secure victory for the Lions of Teranga.

However, that came following remarkable scenes that saw Senegal refuse to play after tournament hosts Morocco were awarded a highly contentious penalty in stoppage time.

After a delay of around 17 minutes, Senegal’s players returned to the pitch, and Brahim Diaz’s ill-advised panenka was saved, forcing extra time.

Fury turned to unbridled joy for Senegal following Gueye’s winner, but CAF have now stripped them of the title following an appeal by Morocco.

An initial disciplinary hearing had seen CAF hand down a series of fines and bans for Senegal and Morocco players and officials, but the result was allowed to stand.

But African football’s governing body said in a statement released on Tuesday that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

The appeal by the Moroccan Football Association (FRMF) was deemed “admissible in form” and subsequently upheld.

The CAF Appeal Board ruled that “through the conduct of its team”, Senegal had breached Article 82 of the AFCON regulations.

Article 82 states that, should a team refuse to play or leave the field before the end of the allotted regulation time without the permission of the referee, then they will be considered the loser of the match and suffer elimination.

That infringement triggered Article 84, which states that any team in breach of Article 82 will be eliminated with a 3-0 defeat.

Morocco wait belatedly ended

Defeat in the final was especially painful for Morocco, with the Atlas Lions failing to end a wait for a first AFCON title since 1976.

But they can now belatedly celebrate claiming the title, albeit in bizarre circumstances. In addition, the CAF ruling serves as a significant reprieve for Diaz for his awful penalty, which would have stood as an infamous moment in Moroccan football had the appeal been dismissed.

This may not be the end of the definitive end of the matter, though, as the case could go to another appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.