Nearly three months following the initial events, the final of the CAN 2025 tournament remains a contentious subject. On January 18 in Rabat, Senegal had initially secured a 1-0 victory on the pitch after extra time. However, on March 17, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) controversially overturned this outcome, awarding Morocco a 3-0 default win.
To justify its decision, the CAF appeal jury invoked articles 82 and 84 of the regulations, which state that a team abandoning the field or refusing to resume play is automatically declared the loser. This interpretation has been vigorously contested by the Senegalese Football Federation, which has since escalated the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) in an effort to annul the verdict.
While awaiting the TAS’s definitive ruling, Edouard Mendy has broken his silence to champion the position of the Lions of Teranga. Featured on the Saudi podcast Mo Show Prod, the Al-Hilal goalkeeper presented his account of the events, directly contradicting Moroccan accusations of a collective abandonment.
The final’s hero, having thwarted Brahim Diaz’s penalty attempt, the Senegalese shot-stopper emphasized a crucial detail. « People claimed we all left the field during the final, but that’s incorrect. There were still players on the pitch. It’s very important to highlight this, » he asserted.
Edouard Mendy defends Senegal’s stance
Furthermore, Mendy referenced the official report from referee Jean-Jacques Ndala to substantiate his claims: « And that’s precisely why the referee did not blow the final whistle. He noted in his report that the match paused momentarily, but not that the team abandoned it, because players remained on the field. »
According to the former Chelsea goalkeeper, the game indeed recommenced, which would invalidate any notion of a forfeit: « The match halted for a moment and then restarted; therefore, it’s unnecessary to discuss what transpired next, as the game continued until its conclusion. If the entire team had been absent, we wouldn’t be having this conversation today. But that wasn’t the situation. »
Nevertheless, this perspective doesn’t fully resolve all ambiguities. As reported by Afrik Foot, the official report, supported by visual evidence, suggests that almost the entire team, with the exception of Sadio Mané, did indeed leave the pitch for several minutes, including Edouard Mendy himself, who was reportedly among the first to head to the changing rooms. The battle of narratives persists as the football world eagerly awaits the final verdict from the TAS.