Source:REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
[Saba Sports News] Recently, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) officially announced that Senegal has been ruled to have abandoned the Africa Cup of Nations final, with the result revised to a 3-0 victory for Morocco. The CAF Appeals Commission ruled, in accordance with Article 84 of the Africa Cup of Nations Regulations, that the Senegalese national team is deemed to have forfeited the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final, and the match result is officially recorded as a 3-0 win for Morocco. The Africa Cup of Nations final was contested between Senegal and Morocco. Towards the end of regular time, the referee first disallowed a Senegal goal. Subsequently, Brahim Díaz was pulled down by a Senegalese player inside the penalty area, and the referee awarded a penalty. Senegal players reacted angrily, and their coach led the team off the pitch in protest. After Sadio Mané persuaded his teammates to return, the match resumed. Díaz’s subsequent panenka penalty was saved by Édouard Mendy. Senegal then scored in extra time to win the match and claim the title.
The editor believes that according to the tournament regulations, a team can only be deemed to have lost 0-3 if it completely withdraws from the match. Therefore, what happened in the Africa Cup of Nations final cannot be regarded as a “complete withdrawal”, but only a temporary walk-off the pitch. The most crucial point is that the match finished normally on the field. The essence of football lies in what happens on the pitch.