Morocco are facing a stumbling block in their quest to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup final after a chaotic scenes in the final match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The highly competitive clash which ended in a 1-0 victory for Senegal at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, witnessed a tense and a charged atmosphere in the second half after a controversial penalty decision awarded to Morocco by referee Jean-Jacques Ndala.
After a widespread protest and Senegal walk-off, the Taranga Lions returned to field following Sadio Mane’s intervention.
Diaz missed Morocco’s penalty kick after executing it poorly in Panenka style, which Mendy easily saved.
The decision triggered anger among sections of Senegalese supporters, leading to scenes of unrest in the stands, with one of the stewards losing his life.
According to reports, the events of the Morocco -Senegal match has greatly weaken the Kingdom of Morocco’s chances of hosting the 2030 World Cup final.
Moroccan players displayed shameful and unacceptable behavior in a final of such magnitude, through attempts by ball boys and some Moroccan players to snatch the towel belonging to Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to prevent him from catching the ball with his gloves dry.
Besides, the Senegalese players reported that three of their teammates had suffered food poisoning, and accusations point to the hotel where they were staying in Morocco.
Prior to this defeat in the final match, the Senegalese players complained about the lack of security upon their arrival at Rabat train station, as well as the limited number of tickets allocated to them (3,000 out of 67,000) and the lack of a separate training pitch, where the home team could have spied on their opponents’ preparations.
Despite the success of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament from an organizational standpoint, the events surrounding the final match had severely damaged Morocco’s reputation.
The refereeing decisions were subject to intense scrutiny throughout the tournament due to allegations of bias in favor of Morocco, which was very evident in the final match when Senegal’s goal was disallowed moments before Morocco was awarded a penalty by VAR technology, and this was the spark that ignited the aforementioned events.
Despite the good relations between Spain, Morocco and Portugal regarding hosting the 2030 World Cup, the issue of the stadium for the final match has opened two opposing fronts.
