Terrible days for AFCON fans and for football in general. CAF officially stripped Senegal of the AFCON trophy, won by them 2 months ago, on January 18, 2026. Everyone knows what happened, how absurd the final was and how emotional it was to watch: Brahim Díaz’s missed penalty, Pape Gueye’s goal in the 94th minute, the long minutes of waiting, the confusion, the fact that the players went to the dressing room before the game ended and that it had to be Senegal’s captain, Sadio Mané, calling them back… That is in history and it is not one more or one less trophy that will erase that.
According to CAF and FIFA rules, a team that leaves the pitch or refuses to continue can be considered to have forfeited. And yes, Senegal left before the game ended because of a fair and valid protest, due to the terrible refereeing from Jean-Jacques Ndala. But at the time, was the game declared abandoned? If it was such an obvious forfeit, why let the game continue and not simply declare a forfeit? Did the referee make any decision at the time? No. He stood there, not knowing what to do, which shows even less professionalism. If it was a forfeit, why wait two months to make a decision? Because, as far as I know, CAF validated Senegal as champions.
Senegal will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and I do not know what can happen, but CAF has lost global respect, AFCON has lost global respect and, in the end, African football ends up being devalued again. Something they fight so hard for: to be respected, to not be seen as inferior to a Euro or a Copa América. But with these actions, what are you expecting? Respect? Is CAF now going to gain the world’s respect because of this decision? Are they going to go to the players’ houses to take back the gold medals? History cannot be rewritten and Senegal is, for everyone except the organizations, the AFCON 2025 champion.
Conclusion
CAF made a sad decision, but I will not say it is unfair. It is very rigid. It makes no sense that it was made two months later and it feels like they are trying to rewrite history. Are Morocco’s players going to celebrate receiving a trophy via Twitter? Are Moroccan fans going to the streets to celebrate being champions through the internet?
A ridiculous decision and, in people’s hearts, Senegal is still the AFCON 2025 champion.