Senegal challenges CAF ruling over Morocco’s CAN 2025 title
The drama surrounding CAN 2025 refuses to fade. After the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) controversially awarded the African championship to Morocco on technical grounds two months post-final, Senegal has taken legal action at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Adding fuel to the fire, a senior figure within the appeals jury has now come forward with damning testimony.
In an exclusive interview, the vice-president of the appeals commission openly disputed the sanction imposed by the CAF. “I fundamentally disagree with this decision”, declared Faustino Varela Monteiro, revealing he was the sole dissenting voice against the ruling that stripped the Lions of Teranga of their hard-earned victory.
“The arbitrator allowed the game to conclude, which suggests there was no abandonment on the field. To conclude otherwise sets a dangerous precedent for the integrity of sport.”
The official went further, questioning the legal foundation of the decision. “If match outcomes can be overturned retroactively, the very concept of a final result becomes meaningless.” He emphasized that the CAS would only reconsider such rulings in cases of clear arbitrariness or proven bad faith—not on the basis of disputed interpretations of on-field events.
Behind the scenes of the controversial final
On January 18 in Rabat, Senegal secured a 1-0 extra-time win over Morocco with a goal from Pape Gueye. The contest had been halted for nearly 15 minutes when Senegal players protested a late penalty call against them. However, Brahim Díaz missed the spot-kick, preserving the narrow lead.
The disputed sequence raises critical questions about CAF’s post-match disciplinary process and whether sporting justice was truly served under the intense spotlight of African football’s biggest stage.