Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe has expressed support for Senegal national football team’s decision to challenge the ruling that saw them lose the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations crown.
CAF officially revised the outcome of the final on March 17, 2026, handing Morocco national football team a 3-0 win, despite Senegal’s victory on the field of play. The controversial move has sparked intense discussion across the continent’s football community.
Addressing the situation, Motsepe emphasized that the governing body is taking the issue very seriously and has already initiated a review into the concerns highlighted by the incident.
“We take what has happened at the final match in Morocco during the AFCON, the Total Energies CAF Morocco 2025, we take it very very seriously and we have already started with very important steps to make sure that those areas which have been identified as deficiencies and where there’s need for improvement that the necessary resolutions are passed.”
He further stood by the credibility of CAF’s judicial structures, maintaining that the verdict to overturn the result aligns with the organisation’s principles.
“We have very high standards that we set for ourselves. It is important for us that ordinary football supporters and spectators in every one of the 54 countries in Africa in their judgement, not in CAF’s judgement, not in my judgement, regard the decisions of our judicial bodies as fair with integrity and impartiality and what is equally important that they regard our referees, our VR operators and our match commissioners as people who are fair and just and those decisions that are taken reflects the impartiality and independence that’s critically important.”
Senegal’s appeal is set to play a decisive role in shaping the final verdict, as they aim to reverse the decision and restore their title.
CAF’s stance suggests it is prepared to let due process unfold, even as scrutiny continues to mount over the handling of one of the most contentious episodes in recent African football.
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