Mustapha Hadji says Morocco’s Africa Cup claim is backed by the rules

Mustapha Hadji says Morocco are entitled to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title under the regulations of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), despite Senegal winning the final on the pitch.

The former Morocco international also criticised Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala for allowing the match to continue after Senegal’s players left the field in protest at a late penalty decision.

“Football is governed by laws, and the law says that if players leave the pitch, there must be a punishment,” Hadji said in a filmed interview with Kooora that will be published later. “In general, I hope this crisis is not repeated, for the future of African football.”

Asked whether he expected a ruling in Morocco’s favour, the 1998 African Footballer of the Year replied: “God willing. Morocco did nothing wrong, while Senegal’s players left the field. Therefore, the law says Morocco have the right to regain the Africa Cup.”

Senegal have argued that CAF’s decision should be overturned because Ndala completed the match, meaning the result recorded on the pitch should stand. Hadji, however, placed responsibility for the dispute on the referee.

“I believe the referee made a major mistake by deciding to restart the match after Senegal’s players had left,” he said. “What is strange is that the video assistant referee and CAF officials allowed him to make that decision alone without intervening.”

Hadji also said Senegal’s players and officials understood the regulations and knew why the game had continued.

“The Senegalese know the law, and they know very well what happened,” he said. “It is true that they won the match on the pitch, but they realise the referee made his decision to ensure the game continued without greater problems.”

He added: “The CAF and FIFA regulations say that if players leave the field for more than 10 or 15 minutes, there must be a punishment.”

Dispute awaits CAS ruling

Senegal beat hosts Morocco 1-0 in the final in Rabat on 18 January. The controversy began after Ndala awarded Morocco a penalty in the closing stages of normal time, prompting Senegal’s players to leave the pitch in protest.

CAF later accepted an appeal from the Moroccan Football Federation and ruled that Morocco should be considered the winners because Senegal had withdrawn from the field.

The Senegalese Football Federation subsequently challenged what was described as a historic and unprecedented CAF decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland.

A CAS hearing involving representatives of Morocco, Senegal and CAF took place in October. The court said its final decision would be announced at the end of November.

Hadji said he hoped any final ruling would be respected, regardless of which side benefited.

“I hope the final judgment applies equally to everyone, but God willing, the decision will be in Morocco’s favour,” he said.

“We are talking about the laws of football. We did not steal the cup without justification; we won it according to the law and the events that took place on the pitch.”

He added that taking the case any further after the CAS ruling would be difficult and could harm the future of football in Africa.

“I want the world to know that there is a law governing African football,” Hadji said.