The extraordinary ruling to strip Senegal of their AFCON title and award it to Morocco two months later is unprecedented. Many Senegal players vacated the field, led by their coach Pape Thiaw, delaying the game by around 17 minutes before captain Sadio Mane convinced them to return. The Senegalese federation branded the decision "iniquitous, unprecedented and unacceptable", saying it "threw discredit on African football". For now, technically, Morocco are considered 3-0 winners of the final which ends a 49-year wait for their second AFCON title. "But reading the reaction from a lot of the African football fans, that's the argument that they're making, some of them, that it has put a stain on African football.

Source: Sky sports March 18, 2026 19:22 UTC