The Senegalese Football Federation says it will appeal the decision of the Confederation of African Football’s appellate board declaring Morocco the winner of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

In an unprecedented ruling on Tuesday night, the CAF appeal board sided with Morocco in an appeal over incidents at the AFCON final in January and stripped Senegal of the title, citing the decision by Senegalese players to temporarily leave the pitch after a controversial late penalty was awarded against the Lions of Teranga.

Subsequently, the appeal board ruled that Senegal must forfeit the match, with the result recorded as 3-0 in favour of Morocco, crowning the Atlas Lions the new champions of the AFCON more than two months after the final was played. 

The panel also reduced the $100,000 fine imposed on Morocco’s Ismaël Saibari for unsportsmanlike conduct by the CAF Disciplinary Committee, and the three-match ban earlier issued against the player was reduced to two official matches, with one suspended. 

Additionally, the $200,000 sanction placed on the Moroccan football federation for an incident involving ball boys in the final was reduced to $50,000, while the panel slashed the $15,000 fine for the use of lasers by Moroccan fans to $10,000. 

Reacting to the verdict in a statement on Wednesday, the FSF described the decision to strip Senegal of the AFCON title as unacceptable and a stain on African football. The federation added that it would imminently begin the process of appealing the judgment before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.

“The Appeals Jury considered that the conduct of the Senegal team fell under Articles 82 and 84 of the Africa Cup of Nations regulations. Consequently, CAF declared that the FSF had violated Article 82 and imposed a forfeit loss for Senegal, with a score recorded as 3–0 in favour of the FRMF, in application of Article 84.

“The Senegalese Football Federation denounces an unfair, unprecedented, and unacceptable decision that discredits African football. To defend its rights and the interests of Senegalese football, the Federation will, as soon as possible, initiate an appeal procedure before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne,” the federation said.