'It's a disgrace for African football, a scandal’ - Evra slams CAF for stripping Senegal of Afcon 2025 title

The final match saw the Lions of Teranga leading 1-0 in extra time before chaos erupted. The Senegalese team protested after being denied a penalty, only for their anger to intensify when VAR intervened to award a spot-kick to Morocco for a similar incident. 

In response, the entire Senegalese team, except for captain Sadio Mané, walked off the pitch for over 20 minutes.

Although Mané eventually convinced his teammates to return, the damage was done. Brahim Diaz missed the subsequent penalty for Morocco, but CAF later cited a breach of its regulations. 

According to a statement, Senegal violated Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON rules. Specifically, Article 82 states: "If a team refuses to play or leaves the pitch before the end of the match without the referee’s permission, it shall be deemed to have forfeited the match."

Following the decision to award Morocco the trophy, Evra posted a video on his Instagram account, expressing his outrage. 

"We all saw Senegal win. But why is no one talking about this referee? Where is he now?" Evra questioned. "It's a disgrace for African football, a scandal." 

Visibly frustrated, Evra argued that the decision has severely damaged the reputation of African football.

"The Africa Cup of Nations has lost all credibility," he stated. "Two months later, they announce that Morocco are champions… I thought it was an April Fool’s joke."

Evra concluded with a defiant message of support for the original winners: "The real champions are Senegal, and they always will be."