The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced sweeping and unprecedented disciplinary measures against Senegal and Morocco following violent and unsporting incidents during the AFCON 2025 final, while firmly upholding Senegal’s status as champions of the tournament.
In a detailed ruling released after disciplinary hearings, CAF imposed substantial financial penalties and match bans on both federations, citing misconduct by players, officials, supporters and match-day personnel.
Despite the sanctions, CAF rejected Morocco’s appeal challenging the outcome of the final and confirmed that Senegal remains the official winners of AFCON 2025.
Sanctions Against Senegal
CAF fined the Senegalese Football Federation a total of $615,000, broken down into several violations during the final:
$300,000 for misconduct by supporters
$300,000 for misconduct by players and team officials
$15,000 for receiving five yellow cards during the match
In addition to the financial penalties, CAF imposed disciplinary sanctions on key members of the Senegalese team. Head coach Pape Thiaw was suspended for five CAF matches and fined $100,000 for conduct deemed to have brought the game into disrepute.
Two Senegal players, Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr, were each handed two-match bans from official CAF competitions for unsporting conduct toward match officials.
Sanctions Against Morocco
Morocco was also heavily punished, with CAF imposing fines totalling $415,000. The breakdown includes:
$200,000 for misconduct by ball boys
$100,000 for misconduct by players and team staff
$15,000 for supporters’ use of laser pointers during the match
Individual Moroccan players were not spared. Ismaila Saibari was fined $100,000 and banned for three CAF matches, while Achraf Hakimi received a two-match suspension from CAF competitions.
CAF Rejects Morocco’s Appeal
CAF also dismissed Morocco’s appeal seeking to have Senegal stripped of the AFCON title. The appeal was based on claims that Senegal abandoned the match after briefly walking off the pitch during the final.
In its ruling, CAF stated that the circumstances surrounding the incident did not meet the threshold for match forfeiture under its regulations.
The governing body concluded that Senegal’s actions did not warrant annulment of the result and confirmed that the West African nation remains the official AFCON 2025 champion.
The decision brings an end to weeks of speculation surrounding the controversial final, while sending a strong message about discipline and accountability at Africa’s premier football tournament.
