The Confederation of African Football has officially awarded the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations 2025 title to the Morocco national football team following a post-match ruling that declared the Senegal national football team forfeited the final.

In a decision announced on Tuesday, CAF confirmed that the match would be recorded as a 3–0 victory in favour of Morocco after determining that Senegal’s actions during the game constituted a breach of tournament regulations.

The final, held in Rabat, was overshadowed by controversy after Senegal players temporarily walked off the pitch in protest against a late penalty awarded to Morocco following a VAR review. The protest stemmed from two key decisions, including the disallowing of a goal by Ismaila Sarr and the subsequent penalty decision in the closing stages of normal time.

Senegal later returned to the pitch and the match proceeded to extra time after Brahim Diaz missed the spot kick. Pape Gueye eventually scored what appeared to be the winning goal for Senegal.

However, CAF’s Appeal Board ruled that the earlier walk-off violated Article 84 of the competition’s regulations, leading to the forfeiture decision.

In an official statement, CAF said: “The Appeal Board decided that, in application of Article 84 of the Regulations of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, the Senegal National Team is declared to have forfeited the final match. The result is therefore recorded as 3–0 in favour of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football.”

The ruling marks a rare and significant intervention in a major continental final, effectively overturning the result on the pitch and handing Morocco the championship.