Claude Le Roy names Morocco as deserving AFCON 2025 winners amid backlash

Veteran French coach Claude Le Roy has clarified his earlier remarks surrounding the Confederation of African Football’s decision to award the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco.

According to the renowned tactician, his comments were widely misinterpreted.

The experienced tactician had initially raised concerns about the timing and handling of the ruling, which came nearly two months after the final, following Senegal’s dramatic walk-off in Rabat.

However, in a video message shared online, Le Roy stressed that his criticism was never directed at Morocco.

“Hello everyone, just a small clarification for a few seconds regarding how people understood what I said about the AFCON final,” Le Roy said.

“Personally, I hold two people responsible, whom I consider unclear, the president of CAF and the president of FIFA, but not Morocco at all, because they had no role in this matter,” he said.

Le Roy also addressed the backlash that followed his earlier remarks, noting that some had wrongly concluded he was attacking Morocco simply for questioning the delayed decision.

“Some people thought that because I opposed this decision, which came two months later, I was attacking Morocco. That is completely false,” he explained.

“Morocco delivered an exceptional AFCON, maybe one of the best in history,” he added.

“Overall, Morocco deserved the title. In the final itself, maybe Senegal had the advantage, but that has nothing to do with the Moroccan players.”

Days after the controversial ruling from CAF, many varied views have been shared on the matter.

Meanwhile, Senegal has reportedly taken the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sports.