Senegal's Sadio Mane holds the trophy aloft as he celebrates with teammates after winning the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Youssef Loulidi)
Normally, coaches tell players to leave everything out on the pitch, but for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 final between Morocco and Senegal, the victors will be decided by a Swiss court in the coming days.
The rematch in Switzerland stems from the decision of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to strip Senegal of its title as the 2025 AFCON champions. The ruling, which the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) is challenging, rests on the finding that the national team's actions during the last minutes of the final triggered a forfeit.
On January 18, 2026, Senegal’s national team, the Teranga Lions, were declared victors of AFCON, the continent's premier national-team football tournament. The West African nation’s second Africa Cup win notably did not come without obstacles or scrutiny.
The problems began off the pitch as the Senegalese team filed complaints about the treatment they received upon landing in Rabat. As they disembarked, the team and support staff were accosted by fans and paparazzi. In a formal complaint, the FSF criticized Morocco’s local organizers, citing lackluster accommodations and security failures.
When the game started the following Sunday night, the first 90 minutes remained in a tight 0-0 deadlock, with neither side wanting to give up an inch. As the 22 players jostled across the pitch, some “football dark arts,” as sports journalist John Ashdown describes it, started brewing behind Senegal's goal.
The dark arts, or shithousery, that habitually take place in high-stakes football games refer to extremely unpleasant or unsportsmanlike activities, done in an attempt to gain an unfair advantage. In the final, the shithousing from Moroccan ball boys and grounds staff included battling over Senegal’s towels, preventing them from wiping their gloves in the pouring rain.
Throughout the game, as towels were snatched, swiped, and dragged from Senegalese hands, tensions rose and frustration mounted throughout the Senegalese side. The mounting frustration intensified following a disallowed goal and multiple player scuffles that had to be broken up. Tension finally erupted for the Teranga Lions after Morocco was awarded a highly disputed penalty in a decisive moment. With their tails between their legs, they walked off the field in protest of the decision, delaying the game for several minutes.
In a redeeming moment, Sadio Mané, the team's veteran player who led them to their first AFCON victory in 2021, ushered the Lions back onto the field, and play continued. Morocco missed the penalty, and in the last thirty minutes of the game, Pape Gueye banged one into the top right corner to score the game-winning goal.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe and FIFA President Gianni Infantino wave from the tribune during the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 soccer match between South Africa and Cameroon in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
The Senegalese team was soon crowned champions of AFCON 2025, and the score recorded as 1-0. However, three months later, CAF overturned the result following an appeal lodged by the Moroccan Football Federation (FMF). The tribunal ruled that Senegal had infringed on Article 82 of AFCON’s regulations and forfeited by leaving the pitch to protest the previously awarded penalty.
The overturned decision granted Morocco a default victory in what FSF president Abdoulaye Fall called “the most grossly unfair administrative robbery” in the history of football. Consequently, “through all appropriate legal avenues,” the FSF has dedicated itself to challenging this ruling that stripped them of their second title.
This month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), a highly respected global sports legal body, will preside over the case and offer a final verdict. The same arbitrating body, based in Switzerland, presided over the famous Manchester City financial fair play case, delivering a final verdict that reversed a punitive measure.
During the wait for the court’s private deliberations, which could take anywhere from a week to a few months, many Senegalese football fans await a return of what they see as sporting fairness. With AFCON 2027 approaching, the prospect of football returning to the pitch and leaving the briefcases behind tantalizes many fans.