Senegal's football federation will present its appeal on October 8, 2026, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, contesting the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) decision to strip them of the 2025 African Cup of Nations title [1, 2, 3, 4].
The original final took place on January 18, 2026, in Rabat, where Senegal defeated Morocco 1-0 after extra time. The match included a 14-15 minute stoppage when Senegal’s players walked off the field in protest after a stoppage-time penalty was awarded to Morocco. The players later returned and Senegal went on to score the winning goal in extra time [1, 2, 3, 4].
In March 2026, CAF overturned the match result, ruling Senegal had forfeited by abandoning the field. CAF awarded Morocco a 3-0 victory and the tournament title [1, 2, 3, 4]. Senegal’s football federation appealed this ruling to CAS on March 25, 2026 [2].
CAS has confirmed the hearing will be closed to the public, with neither CAF nor Morocco’s football federation agreeing to make the process public or expedited [2]. The court cannot say when a final decision will be announced, though it will not come on the day of the hearing, and such rulings can take months [1, 2, 3, 4].
Senegal’s government has called for an inquiry into the removal of their title amid criticism that CAF ignored football laws stating a referee’s on-field decision is final [1, 3, 4].
The appeal hearing on October 8 is the next key step in resolving the dispute over the 2025 African Cup of Nations champion [1, 2, 3, 4].
