Morocco national team captain Achraf Hakimi has said that he accepts the Confederation of African Football Federation (CAF) Appeal Board’s decision to award them the 2025 AFCON title.

This comes after the 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.

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This decision has stirred controversy worldwide, with football pundits, coaches, and fans criticising officials for damaging the continent's reputation with such a ruling.

The Senegal Football Federation has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), challenging the ruling and requesting that it be overturned in their favor to retain the title.

Reacting to this, a Paris Saint-Germain defender stated that he is not concerned about the controversies surrounding the ruling and that the nation accepts that they have been declared champions of the 2025 AFCON.

He stated that he has been working towards winning the title for a long time, hence it’s a dream come true for him.

"Even if we had to win the AFCON this way, we take it. We are very happy. I have waited for this moment for so long," he said in an interview he conducted with a journalist, together with his friend Kylian Mbappe, on The Bridge Show.

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