African Football Discussion Thread Current Topic: 👉 AFCON 2025/2026

[Italian Panic]

Congratulations to Morocco for winning the AFCON, it was well deserved, I’m a huge fan of people getting justice for misconduct, Senegal doesn’t deserve to be called African Champions because they are a disgrace to African football, they let African down and made a mess of themselves and African football for walking off the pitch and refusing to play, I’ve never seen anything like it in my entire life, it was good that justice was served, and other teams countries who would also have to do the same thing in future will have to learn about this verdict of the consequences of Senegalese actions, they brought this on themselves they have made a mess of themselves now they’re not African Champions anymore, because of a horrible decision of walking off the pitch for no reason because you feel the referee gave a penalty, and it was a clear and obvious penalty.

I’m very happy about this verdict, it was totally against the rules, to refuse playing and abandon the game for 10 minutes and refused playing, it was a very hilarious decision and it was unacceptable, I’m happy CAF have done the right thing, stripe them off the tittle so they will learn, and other teams should also learn from it.

Once again Congratulations to Morocco for winning the 2025 AFCON.

It’s a complete fake, it is not sport, it is the courts playing sport. The verdict on the pitch must always be final, without a doubt. If I were a Moroccan player I would refuse the medal and the prize money and ask the federation to remove my photo from this farce.
So what about the betting? Do those who cashed in on Senegal’s victory now have to pay the money back? It is horrible.

[Finebone]

It' was a Nigerian Judge that gave the judgment. Why must be a Nigerian? This is bad image to the Nation. They have published the names in the  board or the panel online.


And the following is the names in the board.


Information gotten from: Pulse Sports Nigeria

I am an African, so I know how all these works, they all have been bribed, so it doesn't matter the national of the said fellow, it's just that the caf as a body is corrupt, and if you decided to go against what the caf president wants, he may likely take action against you that my may get you demoted or removed, but in this case, I believe that they all are corrupt, but the shame and disgrace they have brought to Africans worldwide with this despicable decision is just too much to bear, but as a common African on the street, we knows who is the true winner, because if they succeeded in taking away the trophy, will they be able to take away the celebration and the parade the Senegalese team had?
They just can't take away the sweet memories of the Senegalese team lifting the afcon earlier this year, so they should just f**** off because it doesn't stop them from being champions that they truly are.

[acroman08]

Credit: the Whistler

Just saw the headline on my socials of CAF overturning Senegals 2025 AFCON title and giving it to Morocco.. how disgraceful is this for football ⚽.. Morocco missed the penalty which should have decided the winners 🏆 and we all watched that and witnessed how team Mane went all the way and won this..

Is this pressure coming from Morocco boycotting to host the women's AFCON and now this is damage control ??

Comeon let the football politics not destroy the game we love..

I don't follow football news much, but the AFCON fiasco between Morocco and Senegal got my attention when all the video clips between Senegal and Morocco went viral last January. Anyway, this is such BS coming from CAF. They should have let Senegal keep the championship. Also, as you mentioned, this decision is probably because of the pressure coming from Morocco by boycotting to host women's AFCON.

[Sexylizzy2813]

Congratulations to Morocco for winning the AFCON, it was well deserved, I’m a huge fan of people getting justice for misconduct, Senegal doesn’t deserve to be called African Champions because they are a disgrace to African football, they let African down and made a mess of themselves and African football for walking off the pitch and refusing to play, I’ve never seen anything like it in my entire life, it was good that justice was served, and other teams countries who would also have to do the same thing in future will have to learn about this verdict of the consequences of Senegalese actions, they brought this on themselves they have made a mess of themselves now they’re not African Champions anymore, because of a horrible decision of walking off the pitch for no reason because you feel the referee gave a penalty, and it was a clear and obvious penalty.

I’m very happy about this verdict, it was totally against the rules, to refuse playing and abandon the game for 10 minutes and refused playing, it was a very hilarious decision and it was unacceptable, I’m happy CAF have done the right thing, stripe them off the tittle so they will learn, and other teams should also learn from it.

Once again Congratulations to Morocco for winning the 2025 AFCON.

I wanted to read all you said but after some lines I lost interest, like didn't you watch all the crazy things that went on in favor of the host nation Morocco? After hear this news I paused for some seconds and it is clear that football was killed yesterday, honestly it wasn't a fair decision like how do I explain to my kid(s) that Morocco who lost the AFCON title to Senegal 3 Months ago is now the newly crowded champions? They should have left it to be the way is was because they allowed Senegal players to waste their time throughout the 90'mins till extra time for nothing, it was a wasted effort and a celebration for nothing. I believe if it was you in that situation you would clap for Morocco for enjoying themselves in the finals without you saying anything or showing signs of disagreement or even protesting...bro for you to celebrate this then you enjoy how weak people see the AFCON, is your opinion but this is unfair, after the Senegalese left the pitch they should have given Morocco the title then fine Senegal, that would have been the best decision but this news of yesterday just shows that any rubbish can happen in the AFCON...very soon players will start losing interest.

[Roseline492]

It's a shame to CAF for stripping off Senegal the African Cup of Nations trophy they won early this year. Well I am not surprised with what CAF did to Senegal because they wanted Morocco to win the African Cup of Nations, and since Morocco couldn't win it, they decided to capitalize on Senegal walking off the pitch to stripe Senegal the African Cup of Nations and award it to Morocco. If I were Senegal, I won't give CAF the African Cup of Nations, they should go and make another African Cup of Nations and give to Morocco.

In our minds we no the country that won the AFCON and is not Morocco, what reason does the court actually have in giving the trophy to them, I thought that those finings CAF gave players was the end of it, I didn't no another one is coming, they could have done anything or more fines but shouldn't have taking the already won trophy from Senegal and gave to Morocco that lost on the penalty, they would make people to start losing the urge of watching AFCON. CAF are the mouth of the Tournament so if Senegal does not give them the cup they would give them a big sanctions they might suffer for a while because is the court that ruled it.

[Hewlet]

Credit: the Whistler

Just saw the headline on my socials of CAF overturning Senegals 2025 AFCON title and giving it to Morocco.. how disgraceful is this for football ⚽.. Morocco missed the penalty which should have decided the winners 🏆 and we all watched that and witnessed how team Mane went all the way and won this..

Is this pressure coming from Morocco boycotting to host the women's AFCON and now this is damage control ??

Comeon let the football politics not destroy the game we love..

I don't follow football news much, but the AFCON fiasco between Morocco and Senegal got my attention when all the video clips between Senegal and Morocco went viral last January. Anyway, this is such BS coming from CAF. They should have let Senegal keep the championship. Also, as you mentioned, this decision is probably because of the pressure coming from Morocco by boycotting to host women's AFCON.

At the end of the day, when injustice favours us, we tend to use every means possible to term it tye right thing and when it doesn't, we go all out speaking against it. In a crucial final as that, whatever misconduct that happend ought to be settle on field with a stipulated time and if for any reason the game was paused and after all is said and done the game continued to the end and a winner imaged, for the sake of the reputation of the tournament, CAF has no reason whatever to over turn such decision from the referee even after Senegal has long been announced as the winner of the African cup of nations. This is the similar thing we as Nigerian always try to do that I don't like. Of cause, with this, what we should expect is that African football will continue to receive redicule because it's still control by people that can make unguided decision just to favour thier sponsors.

[Agbamoni]

At the end of the day, when injustice favours us, we tend to use every means possible to term it tye right thing and when it doesn't, we go all out speaking against it. In a crucial final as that, whatever misconduct that happend ought to be settle on field with a stipulated time and if for any reason the game was paused and after all is said and done the game continued to the end and a winner imaged, for the sake of the reputation of the tournament, CAF has no reason whatever to over turn such decision from the referee even after Senegal has long been announced as the winner of the African cup of nations. This is the similar thing we as Nigerian always try to do that I don't like. Of cause, with this, what we should expect is that African football will continue to receive redicule because it's still control by people that can make unguided decision just to favour thier sponsors.

You have a valid point. I think this is unnecessary drama. Whatever decision was made by CAF recently, should have been done on the field immediately after Senegal left for the pitch. The referee should have called off the game and instantly announced Morocco as the winner. How will I live to tell my children that Morocco was made the winner of the AFCON through email? Please make it make sense to me? This is unnecessary drama.

[Unsoldier]

The CAF decision is an absolute circus. The Senegal national team left the pitch for 10 minutes — that is a violation of the rules and they should have been given a technical defeat. But that should have been done at the time of the match, not 2 months later. Since it wasn't done and the match continued, canceling the result is complete madness. If that's the case, let's cancel Maradona's handball goal against England at the 1986 World Cup. Everyone knows he played with his hand, but no one cancels the goal. So why can Senegal's victory be taken away?

Senegal has already filed an appeal. They believe the law and the rules are on their side: since the referee didn't end the match after the players left, there is no basis to revise the result. I hope CAF changes its mind and makes a decision in favor of the Senegal national team.

[Rockson1]

In our minds we no the country that won the AFCON and is not Morocco, what reason does the court actually have in giving the trophy to them, I thought that those finings CAF gave players was the end of it, I didn't no another one is coming, they could have done anything or more fines but shouldn't have taking the already won trophy from Senegal and gave to Morocco that lost on the penalty, they would make people to start losing the urge of watching AFCON. CAF are the mouth of the Tournament so if Senegal does not give them the cup they would give them a big sanctions they might suffer for a while because is the court that ruled it.

I do not want to remember that such vadict was given, you said it right, we know the country that won the AFCON of course that is the fact, I will not be deceived by any vadict whatsoever, the current episode that is playing out now has nothing to do with what we already know, the court at this point is making everything to look as if there is joke going on, I have not heard of this type of a thing before and if i have forgotten may be someone should remind me, decisions like this are too extreme from my own perspective, these trophy is in record that Senagal won it, I wonder how they are trying to change that narrative.

[Roseline492]

In our minds we no the country that won the AFCON and is not Morocco, what reason does the court actually have in giving the trophy to them, I thought that those finings CAF gave players was the end of it, I didn't no another one is coming, they could have done anything or more fines but shouldn't have taking the already won trophy from Senegal and gave to Morocco that lost on the penalty, they would make people to start losing the urge of watching AFCON. CAF are the mouth of the Tournament so if Senegal does not give them the cup they would give them a big sanctions they might suffer for a while because is the court that ruled it.

I do not want to remember that such vadict was given, you said it right, we know the country that won the AFCON of course that is the fact, I will not be deceived by any vadict whatsoever, the current episode that is playing out now has nothing to do with what we already know, the court at this point is making everything to look as if there is joke going on, I have not heard of this type of a thing before and if i have forgotten may be someone should remind me, decisions like this are too extreme from my own perspective, these trophy is in record that Senagal won it, I wonder how they are trying to change that narrative.

If there verdict could be countered by the country the unjust was committed on, then Senegal government would further it on a different Court to see how they would also ruled it but I don't no if this is allowed for any country to do. We have been watching countries in Africa, hosting AFCON but non of this verdict has been giving to any country to favour the host and all those AFCON always ended very interesting for people, so why making this one to be something everybody will not accept because is obvious Morocco was the country they planned it for all along, for the fact that Morocco was fairly beaten they would be mocked for taking a trophy they didn't win.

[Marykeller]

Congratulations to Morocco for winning the AFCON, it was well deserved, I’m a huge fan of people getting justice for misconduct, Senegal doesn’t deserve to be called African Champions because they are a disgrace to African football, they let African down and made a mess of themselves and African football for walking off the pitch and refusing to play, I’ve never seen anything like it in my entire life, it was good that justice was served, and other teams countries who would also have to do the same thing in future will have to learn about this verdict of the consequences of Senegalese actions, they brought this on themselves they have made a mess of themselves now they’re not African Champions anymore, because of a horrible decision of walking off the pitch for no reason because you feel the referee gave a penalty, and it was a clear and obvious penalty.

I’m very happy about this verdict, it was totally against the rules, to refuse playing and abandon the game for 10 minutes and refused playing, it was a very hilarious decision and it was unacceptable, I’m happy CAF have done the right thing, stripe them off the tittle so they will learn, and other teams should also learn from it.

Once again Congratulations to Morocco for winning the 2025 AFCON.

Should we start now to say congratulations to Moroccans, or should we wait a little bit to see how this whole drama is going to unfold because the Senegalese have refused to hand over the AFCON trophy after the CAF ruling.

To me, this whole thing will take a long time before it gets resolved. A country can't celebrate for their continent football tournament trophy,  after a while, they are told to return it. That sounds weird

[Callido]

You have a valid point. I think this is unnecessary drama. Whatever decision was made by CAF recently, should have been done on the field immediately after Senegal left for the pitch. The referee should have called off the game and instantly announced Morocco as the winner. How will I live to tell my children that Morocco was made the winner of the AFCON through email? Please make it make sense to me? This is unnecessary drama.

This is nonsense, awarding the AFCON winning title to Morocco after months of deciding the winner is nothing more than politics, what I expected as punishment was a fine or suspension on the manager, handing the titleship to Morocco only tells her corrupt and the kind of agenda that was raised behind their judgement. The truth is that, I will be unable to accept the fact that Senegal has been stripped off the title, they are still my champions.

[GeorgeJohn]

At the end of the day, when injustice favours us, we tend to use every means possible to term it tye right thing and when it doesn't, we go all out speaking against it. In a crucial final as that, whatever misconduct that happend ought to be settle on field with a stipulated time and if for any reason the game was paused and after all is said and done the game continued to the end and a winner imaged, for the sake of the reputation of the tournament, CAF has no reason whatever to over turn such decision from the referee even after Senegal has long been announced as the winner of the African cup of nations. This is the similar thing we as Nigerian always try to do that I don't like. Of cause, with this, what we should expect is that African football will continue to receive redicule because it's still control by people that can make unguided decision just to favour thier sponsors.

You have a valid point. I think this is unnecessary drama. Whatever decision was made by CAF recently, should have been done on the field immediately after Senegal left for the pitch. The referee should have called off the game and instantly announced Morocco as the winner. How will I live to tell my children that Morocco was made the winner of the AFCON through email? Please make it make sense to me? This is unnecessary drama.

CAF decision is questionable, it looks as if they were compromised, and i believe that the decision was not ordinarily, Morocco is not suppose to be the winner against Senegal, we all watched the match

The incidents that happened on the pitch is something a referee supposed to handle and resolve immediately, but allowing it to take much time before decision is been taken, it's obvious that CAF will be bias or be compromised on their decision

As you said that assuming the decisions was taken immediately and referee cancelled the match and reschedule the match, it would have been the best decision.

[Issa56]

Credit: the Whistler

Just saw the headline on my socials of CAF overturning Senegals 2025 AFCON title and giving it to Morocco.. how disgraceful is this for football ⚽..

I saw the news trending yesterday on X and I was even thinking it’s was a fake news because how will you take away a tittle from a country that won it publicly for another country. I haven’t heard something like this before because it’s just surprising to me, that’s really a ridiculous judgement.

I know some misconducts happened in the match, but everything was settled and Senegal won the AFCON, does it’s even make sense to give the tittle to another country? How are the Moroccan fans going to be celebrating this now, AFCON that have been played in the last 2 months if am not mistaken. Seriously we should learn to improve in everything we are doing, I haven’t heard about a situation like this before, this is my first time.

[Antotena]

You have a valid point. I think this is unnecessary drama. Whatever decision was made by CAF recently, should have been done on the field immediately after Senegal left for the pitch. The referee should have called off the game and instantly announced Morocco as the winner. How will I live to tell my children that Morocco was made the winner of the AFCON through email? Please make it make sense to me? This is unnecessary drama.

The whole drama about this Afcon is a big disgrace to African cup of nation. We have agitated many times that other continent doesn't value our Afcon, I remember we dragged Carragher for saying Afcon isn't a major league only for this bunch of groups that now managed Afcon to return the trophy to Morocco, because of what exactly? Did they think this true before they make this decision?  This is like saying Messi should return the World cup to France.

There are many unanswered questions about this nonsense decision they made. Let's say the match between Morocco and Senegal happened in Quarter final and then Senegal couldn't make it to the final or they make it but another country won it, what will Afcon do about it? Collect it and say because Morocco did played they deserved it better. Sometimes we do complain that we don't have progress in our Africa, this are one of the reasons that can stop progress to be honest.

[7juju]

Lwt us see what will happen because Senegal has refused to give the cup to Morocco and they have appealed or taking the matter for appeal to Court of Arbitration for Poort (CAS). Let us see who CAS would favour. The final decision of CAS will determine if Senegal will give the cup to Morocco.

It' was a Nigerian Judge that gave the judgment. Why must be a Nigerian? This is bad image to the Nation. They have published the names in the  board or the panel online.


And the following is the names in the board.


Information gotten from: Pulse Sports Nigeria

That's not really something to worry about. The entire panel made the decision and the role of the panel president is just to announce the result of the panel's decision. Anyone blaming the outcome of the panel on the president who happens to be a Nigerian probably don't know how judicial panel works. Secondly Nigeria is not a small country in the continent of Africa, so it's natural if the body looked up to someone from Nigeria to lead the panel. My take on this matter is that CAF knowing their rules already would have announced Morocco as winners the day Senegal walked off the game.

[trendcoin]

I was very surprised when I saw the news. I don’t think there’s any point in debating the commission’s decision. They’ve already come to a decision and determined the outcome. However, I couldn’t understand why they waited so long to make it. In my view, this is a decision that should have been announced following an evaluation that would normally take no more than a week.

By the way, pulling the team off the field strikes me as the behavior of a high school kid. No matter what happens, the fight must continue. In my opinion, pulling the team off the field is never the right thing to do. Dramatizing the situation doesn’t do anyone any good.

[Iamgoat]

It’s a complete fake, it is not sport, it is the courts playing sport. The verdict on the pitch must always be final, without a doubt. If I were a Moroccan player I would refuse the medal and the prize money and ask the federation to remove my photo from this farce.
So what about the betting? Do those who cashed in on Senegal’s victory now have to pay the money back? It is horrible.

You are on point and have asked a good question as a result. What about those who placed their bets in favor of the Senegal victory and have cashed out their wins, are they going to refund the money now because some courts or appeal board who are not even professional footballers just seating somewhere decided to make a ruling independently and singlehandedly re-award the trophy to a team which have been beaten by the other team already. if they had announced a rematch it would have made more reasonable sense to me but which one is they should return the trophy and hand it over to the Morocco team without even proposing a rematch or so. It is so boring for a serious football and a mess of the system in my view.

[IceLincoln]

AFCON and CAF will all lose their credibility because this is unjust. We all saw how similar thing happened with Manchester United when all the players left the pitch already and we're called back to take a penalty and nothing happened. The punishment and fine was okay but this No it not okay.

By all standards, it has lost all its credibility and Value. If the people who host and organise it can disregard it then what do you expect from outsiders. I don’t like all this jagon court cases, football should be decided on the pitch not outside in court houses or whatever body…. It’s not an election.
Now I’ll like to agree with Jamie Carragher the AFCON has no place amongst other continental competitions. It’s just a shame and big embarrassment on the face of AFRICA.

[shanz]

The issue is not only who wins the cup, Morocco or Senegal both are good. Morocco got the cup not because they were better on the pitch, but because Senegal did not respect the rules.
The decision could have been taken earlier, especially when the Senegal team left the pitch for more than 15 min. Still, I understand the situation was difficult, because some Senegal supporters caused problems in the stadium. They damaged seats, put people in danger, and even tried to enter the pitch by force (according to international news). Also, I read reports about problems affecting Moroccan expats in Senegal, which is worrying. Similar situations have happened before for Egyptian expats, unfortunately.
This edition of the CAN deserves better behavior from supporters to properly represent the African continent.