Some football fans have insisted that they still recognise Senegal as the champions of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), despite the decision to award the title to Morocco after an appeal. The Real Champions 🇸🇳 💪🏿 They allowed the match to proceed, allowed the team to celebrate for months and now to come up with this decision???....This is a total joke man Shame to you all. A disgrace to the whole continent. Hide your faces AFCON is officially the biggest joke of a tournament in Football. CAF overturning the AFCON final months later and handing the trophy to Morocco on a technicality is a dangerous precedent for African football. Brooo i can’t believe i spent years defending AFCON against foreigners that insulted it just for them to go and do something like this and put me to shame. The world saw it. CAF may have handed the honor to Morocco, but the dignity belongs to the team that actually won on the pitch — Senegal. Football is decided by what happens on the field, not by decisions made behind the table. History will remember who truly earned the victory. pic.twitter.com/yrS3XTTd4x Those in charge of CAF are embarrassing the continent. The game went ahead and Morocco missed the penalty. I think at this point, every other nation in Africa should leave the afcon for CAF and Morocco. y did the match commissioner allow the match to continue? if Senegal should lose on technicalities then it was supposed to be done on the day of the match not after 2 months. by allowing the match to continue, you are implying that u overlook the rules relating to forfeiture. First he arbitrarily moves Afcon to an every four year competition and now this utter lunacy. I think it's fair to say that Patrice Motsepe, current President of CAF, should be shown a red card. Enough is enough. https://t.co/HZqhgooqeD Motsepe ruined CAF, players who are playing in in big leagues are no longer going to waste their time represent their countries in AFCON pic.twitter.com/fNeKABtjPD
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeal Board ruled that Senegal breached Article 84 of the regulations, which prohibits staging a walk-off. As a result, Senegal were deemed to have forfeited the game, and the final result was nullified.
Applying the regulation, Morocco were declared champions with a 3-0 scoreline against Senegal as punishment for the temporary walk-off.
CAF declares Morocco 2025 AFCON champions
The decision has sparked immense backlash on social media, with football pundits, officials, and fans describing it as “shameful” and damaging to the image of African football.
Critics argue that match officials should have applied the rules immediately when the incident occurred, rather than allowing the CAF Appeal Board to overturn the result afterward.
Others questioned the authority of the Appeal Board to change a result once a game has ended, blaming CAF officials for the controversy.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has also faced criticisms for the controversies that have emerged during his presidency, ranging from AFCON disputes to challenges in club football, with many saying his administration has underperformed so far.
Trophies are won not given.🏆 pic.twitter.com/BqDFaAQcDl
This is insane.
Football matches should be decided on the pitch, not in boardrooms. Stripping Senegal of a title after the fact undermines the…
It’s very obvious Morocco bribed you guys to win this. Smh no one’s ever going to take you guys seriously again.
SB/JE
Also, watch as Black Stars legends light up the pitch and roll back the years at the Monday Stars game
Sports News of Wednesday, 18 March 2026
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
'Shame, Senegal are the real champions' - Fans react to AFCON ruling
Senegal players celebrated their 2025 AFCON title win
