Dakar: Months after the dramatic 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final between Morocco and Senegal, CAF issued a ruling on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, that sent shockwaves across African football.
According to Ghana Web, the Teranga Lions were stripped of the title, and Morocco were awarded a 3-0 forfeit victory. The decision was grounded in CAF's Article 84, part of the Confederation's rules governing withdrawals and match abandonments.
Article 84 is located in Chapter 35, Withdrawals of CAF's disciplinary regulations, and it deals directly with teams that refuse to play or leave the pitch. It states that teams violating Articles 82 or 83 are eliminated from the competition and their match is recorded as a 3-0 loss, unless the opponent already has a more advantageous score at the time of interruption. CAF also reserves the right to impose further sanctions.
During the final, Senegal briefly walked off the pitch in protest, reportedly over a contentious late penalty awarded to Morocco. CAF determined that the walkout fell squarely under Articles 82-84. By leaving the pitch without referee authorization, Senegal violated Article 82. As a result, CAF applied Article 84, ruling that Morocco would win 3-0 by forfeit, even though the match had already finished 1-0 in normal play. The Organising Committee also reserved the right to consider further disciplinary measures against the Senegalese team.
Article 84 is one of CAF's strongest tools to enforce competition integrity. It ensures that teams cannot abandon matches or refuse to play without facing decisive consequences. Historically, this article has not been applied to an AFCON final, making the 2025 ruling both precedent-setting and controversial.