Morocco have been crowned Africa Cup of Nations 2025 champions after Senegal were stripped of their title following their highly controversial walk-off in the final.

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) Appeal Board has ruled that Senegal forfeited the contest after walking into the dressing room in protest to Morocco being awarded a late penalty, actions that were described as “shameful”.

The spot-kick was eventually missed after Brahim Diaz’s ‘Panenka’ effort sailed into the arms of Edouard Mendy, with Senegal then winning 1-0 in extra time.

But this seismic ruling means the final is now recorded as a 3-0 win for Morocco, awarding them their first Afcon title since 1976.

Under Afcon regulations, if a team “refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee”, they will be deemed the loser and their opponents will automatically be given a 3-0 win, as per Articles 82 and 84.

And Caf has confirmed stuck by its own rules, saying in its statement that Senegal “infringed Article 82 of the Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations” and “in application of Article 84 … the Senegal team is declared to have forfeited the match”.

The Senegalese Football Federation (SFF) said they would now be taking the matter to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (Caf), seeking to overturn Tuesday’s decision.

The final in Rabat descended into chaos deep into stoppage time when hosts Morocco were awarded a penalty after a VAR review by Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala as Diaz went down the box under the challenge of El Hadji Malick Diouf.

Senegal, who had an opening goal disallowed for a soft foul on Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi moments before, were outraged and the majority of the Senegal team, led by head coach Pape Thiaw, stormed off the pitch, leading to a 14-minute delay.

Teranga Lions talisman Sadio Mane remained on the touchline before retrieving his team after a lengthy delay, with referee Jean-Jacques Ndala losing complete control of the match.

Diaz then stepped up to take the penalty in the 24th minute of additional time, only to see his abysmal ‘Panenka’ attempt force Mendy into the easiest of saves, with the game therefore forced into extra time.

Pape Sarr went on to score the winner in stunning fashion for Senegal in the 94th minute, with his rocket of an effort proving the difference on the night and seemingly the Atlas Lions a first Afcon title for 50 years.

Thiaw was later suspended, although only for matches in the next Afcon qualifiers, which start after the World Cup in June, for which both Morocco and Senegal have qualified.

But thanks to this jaw-dropping turn of events, the result has been flipped and Morocco and will travel to this summer’s global showpiece as the champions of Africa.

Morocco welcomed the verdict in an initial response which read: “The Federation wishes to recall that its approach has never been intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams participating in this competition, but solely to request the application of the competition’s regulations.

“The Federation reaffirms its commitment to respecting the rules, ensuring clarity in the competitive framework, and maintaining stability within African competitions. It also wishes to commend all the nations that took part in this edition of the AFCON, which has been a major moment for African football. The Federation will make an official statement tomorrow, after convening its governing bodies.”

But Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, the Secretary General of SFF, told state broadcaster RTS1: “This is a travesty; this decision is based on absolutely nothing. It has no legal foundation.

“And from what we saw this morning when the hearing began, we already had serious doubts clearly, the judge did not come to rule on the case, he came to carry out orders.

“The president of the federation will get in touch with the lawyers; we will engage with the appropriate authorities, and then we will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which will issue the final decision.

“We will not back down. Senegalese people should have no doubt. The truth is on Senegal’s side, the law is on Senegal’s side.”