Morocco has been declared the winner of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after the Confederation of African Football overturned the final’s result following Senegal’s controversial walk-off.

Senegal initially defeated Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January, a match overshadowed by the Senegalese players’ refusal to continue after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty while the score was still 0-0.

After a delay of about 17 minutes, the players eventually returned, with Brahim Diaz’s penalty being saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

However, that result has now been overturned following a decision by an appeal board at CAF, awarding Morocco the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title.

CAF stated that Senegal has been “declared to have forfeited the final match,” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

The Senegalese Football Federation said it would appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, describing it as “an unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable decision which brings discredit to African football.”

The decision comes after an appeal by the Moroccan Football Federation, which CAF deemed “admissible in form” and upheld.

CAF stated that Senegal, “through the conduct of its team,” breached Article 82 of the Africa Cup of Nations regulations, triggering the application of Article 84.

FRMF said its appeal of the final result was “never intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams” but was a request for the “application of the competition’s regulations.”

“The federation reaffirms its commitment to respecting the rules, ensuring clarity in the competitive framework, and maintaining stability within African competitions,” the FRMF statement added.

“It also wishes to commend all the nations that took part in this edition of the Afcon, which has been a major moment for African football.”