CAF title decision under scrutiny: Observer report shows no condemnation of Senegal

The controversy surrounding the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final shows no signs of cooling, following CAF’s unprecedented decision to strip Senegal of the title and award it to Morocco.

The ruling, announced Tuesday evening, came after the Confederation of African Football accepted Morocco’s appeal, citing the temporary withdrawal of the Lions of Teranga during the final as justification.

With this decision, Morocco claimed its second continental crown, despite having lost the match 1-0 on the field to Senegal last January.

Amid the ongoing debate, Egyptian journalist Ahmed Abdel Basset revealed that the official match observer for the final did not provide any report condemning Senegal to the extent that would warrant the title being stripped.

Abdel Basset wrote on Facebook, “Ahmed Megahed, the former president of the Egyptian Football Association, was an observer of the Senegal-Morocco match in the Africa Cup of Nations final, and according to my information, he did not condemn the Senegalese national team in his report in a way that warranted the decision issued by CAF to withdraw the title from them.”

This revelation raises further questions about the rationale behind CAF’s ruling, adding another layer of controversy to a final that was already fraught with tension, drama, and unprecedented administrative decisions.