Sami Al-Jaber questions VAR after Al Ahli Saudi defeat revives Morocco-Senegal controversy

Sami Al-Jaber has reignited the debate surrounding the controversial Morocco-Senegal Africa Cup of Nations final after Al Ahli Saudi were beaten 2-1 by Mamelodi Sundowns in the Intercontinental Cup.

The former Saudi Arabia international criticised the decision-making during Saturday’s match, which was played in South Africa in front of senior officials including Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe.

Speaking on the Nadina programme after the game, Al-Jaber said there were “many doubts” about some of the decisions, including the offside call against Ivan Toney when the forward was through on goal against Mamelodi Sundowns.

“There are many doubts about some decisions, including Ivan Toney’s offside when he was one-on-one with the Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper,” Al-Jaber said.

He also questioned the way the video assistant referee system is used to determine offside decisions.

“One of the flaws of VAR is allowing it to draw the offside lines as it wishes and control this mechanism,” he added. “There are 100 million doubts about this decision, in the presence of Motsepe, the president of the Confederation of African Football and, essentially, the club’s owner.”

Al-Jaber then connected the controversy in South Africa with the unresolved fallout from the most recent Africa Cup of Nations final.

“In Motsepe’s era, we still do not know who the African champion is in the last edition: Senegal or Morocco?” he said. “There are major question marks.”

Morocco and Senegal final

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final between Morocco and Senegal in Rabat initially ended with a 1-0 victory for Senegal after extra time.

Pape Gueye scored the decisive goal in the 93rd minute, while Morocco had earlier missed the opportunity to take the lead in normal time when Edouard Mendy saved a penalty taken by Brahim Diaz.

The match was marked by further controversy when Senegal’s players left the pitch in protest after the penalty was awarded to Morocco. They returned several minutes later to complete the game.

After play resumed, Diaz missed the spot-kick before Gueye scored Senegal’s winning goal at the start of extra time.

However, the final’s outcome was later changed by the Confederation of African Football. The organisation cancelled the match result and declared Senegal to have withdrawn from the final, awarding Morocco a 3-0 victory.

Morocco were consequently named Africa Cup of Nations winners for only the second time in their history and for the first time since 1976. Senegal were stripped of the title they had celebrated after the match.