Why CAF's decision to strip Senegal's AFCON title for Morocco is illegal

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeal Board’s unprecedented decision to strip Senegal of their 2025 AFCON title and award it to host nation Morocco via a 3-0 administrative forfeit has sparked intense scrutiny regarding its legality under the official Laws of the Game.

Acting on an appeal by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), the committee invoked Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON regulations to penalise Senegal for their 15-minute walk-off protest during the final. 

However, this boardroom reversal directly violates Law 5 of the IFAB Laws of the Game. Under Law 5, the match referee, in this case Jean-Jacques Ndala, holds the exclusive, final authority over the match's continuation and conclusion. 

5.2 Decisions of the referee

Because Ndala deliberately chose not to abandon the fixture and instead allowed Senegal to return to the pitch, complete the match, and secure their original 1-0 victory at the final whistle, critics contend that CAF's post-match forfeiture ruling unlawfully supersedes the referee's binding on-field jurisdiction.

Additionally, journalist Osasu Obayiuwana revealed that a former member of the appeals committee informed him that the council had neither the power nor the jurisdiction to make such a decision.

“I am shocked by this decision, because as a person who sat on the @CAF_Online Appeals Board for SIX YEARS, I know that the Appeals Board does not have the power to change the on-field decision of a referee.”

Armed with the stipulations in IFAB’s foundational rules of the game, the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) has a highly viable legal pathway to challenge the ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. 

At CAS, Senegal's legal team can argue that an administrative appeal committee lacks the power to retroactively declare a match forfeited for "refusal to play" when the designated match official officially recognised the game's completion. 

Should CAS uphold the IFAB statutes and overturn the CAF Appeal Board's decision, Senegal would successfully reclaim their second continental crown.