It was one of the strangest scenes in football history, unfolding in Rabat on January 18 - and it will now have its definitive end on a desk in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Let’s start at the beginning.
+ A fiery final
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final was a heated affair even before kick-off. Hosts Morocco, led by PSG’s Achraf Hakimi and Real Madrid winger Brahim Díaz, faced a star-studded Senegal side.
Some 66,500 people were in the stands at the huge Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
The match was marred by controversy, but it was only in the closing stages that the real chaos erupted.
+ Walked off the pitch
In the fifth minute of added time, with the score at 0-0, the referee disallowed a Senegal goal. A couple of minutes later, he awarded Morocco a penalty after Díaz was brought down.
The protests from Senegal were deafening.
The Senegalese players felt so aggrieved that they walked off the pitch together in protest against the decision. They returned about 15 minutes later, after star player Sadio Mané persuaded his teammates to come back.
During the interruption, Senegalese supporters clashed with police and Moroccan fans in the stands, and it was unclear whether the match would resume.
+ The missed penalty
Twenty minutes after Morocco was awarded the penalty, Brahim Díaz was finally able to place the ball on the spot.
Díaz stepped up and chipped the ball nonchalantly - straight into the arms of Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy.
The match went into extra time, where Pape Gueye scored to make it 1-0 for Senegal. That was also the final score.
Senegal lifted the trophy and could call themselves champions - at least for a while.
+ CAF’s decision
This spring, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decided to strip Senegal of the title and award the victory to Morocco instead.
CAF considered that Senegal had forfeited the match when the players left the pitch after Morocco was awarded the penalty.
The Senegalese Football Federation appealed the decision to CAS, and now the Court of Arbitration for Sport will decide which country should be declared the winner.
+ No quick process
ESPN writes that CAS asked the Senegalese and Moroccan federations whether they wanted an expedited process, but both said they would prefer to follow CAS’s normal timetable.
The hearing will be held behind closed doors, and CAS will not announce a decision on the same day.
Patrice Motsepe is the president of CAF.
“No matter what decision CAS reaches, we will respect it,” he said, according to African media.
