The Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) has officially announced that Morocco are the AFCON 2025 champions after Senegal forfeited the final. Morocco won the match 3–0 by default, following a decision by CAF’s Appeal Board. Senegal was found to have broken important tournament rules, especially Articles 82 and 84, which led to their disqualification. This decision overturned an earlier ruling by the Disciplinary Board.
Even though Morocco was declared the winner, they also faced some penalties. The team was fined for problems during the final, including ball boy issues, crowd disturbances like lasers, and interference near the VAR review area. While most fines were reduced, Morocco had to pay $100,000 for the VAR incident.
Individual player Ismaël Saibari was also punished for misconduct. His suspension was reduced to two matches (one match suspended), and his $100,000 fine was cancelled.
In the end, AFCON 2025 finished in a controversial way. Morocco became champions, but both teams faced disciplinary issues, making this final one of the most dramatic in the tournament’s history.
