THE President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, has affirmed that Senegal retains the right to challenge the controversial decision that stripped it of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title, stressing that no country will receive preferential treatment.
Motsepe stated this in a video interview published by CAF on Wednesday, addressing the fallout from the disputed AFCON 2025 final between the Senegal national football team and the Morocco national football team.
“And I’m told that Senegal is going to appeal, which is very important. Every one of the 54 nations in Africa has a right to pursue their appeals and advance their interests, not only at the highest level in Africa, in CAF, but also at the highest body, which is the Court of Arbitration for Sport. And we will adhere to and respect the decision that’s taken at the highest level,” he said.
Motsepe acknowledged that the controversy surrounding the final had undermined confidence in African football.
“I’ve been informed of the ruling by the CAF Appeals Board concerning the appeal by Morocco relating to the AFCON-Morocco 2025 final match, and I previously expressed my extreme disappointment with the incidents that took place at the final match.
“The important thing of what happened in that final match is it undermines the good work that CAF has done over many years to ensure that there’s integrity, that there’s respect, that there’s ethics, that there’s governance, as well as credibility of the results of our football matches,” he said.
The CAF president described the situation as part of a longstanding credibility challenge within African football, adding that concerns over officiating and governance predate the 2025 final.
“The occurrences at the final match are part of the issues we are still dealing with concerning suspicion and distrust. It’s a legacy issue.
“When I became president, one of the major concerns was the impartiality, the independence and the respect of referees and match commissioners. A lot of good work has been done, but there continues to be suspicion because it’s a legacy issue,” he said.
Motsepe added that the controversy has also brought renewed scrutiny to the independence of CAF’s judicial bodies.
“Another important matter that these incidences brought to the fore is the independence and the respect of our judicial bodies,” he said.
Explaining reforms under his leadership, the president said CAF had adopted a new approach in appointing members of its judicial bodies.
“We, in choosing the members of our judicial bodies, followed a different path from what had been the case before. We invited each member association and each of the six zones in CAF to submit names of respected judges and lawyers,” he said.
Motsepe stressed that the credibility of decisions remains central to the organisation’s reforms.
“It is important that the decisions of our disciplinary board and the CAF appeals board are viewed with the respect and integrity that’s very important to us. But we will still have to deal with perceptions and concerns about integrity. It’s an ongoing issue. The CAF disciplinary board took one decision. The CAF appeals board took a totally different position,
“A critical factor is that not a single country in Africa will be treated in a manner that is more preferential or more advantageous or more favourable than any other country on the African continent,” he said.
Motsepe added that the African football body has commenced internal reviews following the final, emphasising that public trust would ultimately determine the legitimacy of CAF’s decisions.
“We take what has happened at the final match in Morocco during the TotalEnergies CAF Morocco 2025 very seriously. We have already started very important steps to address the identified deficiencies and ensure the necessary resolutions are passed.
“It is important for us that ordinary football supporters and spectators in every one of the 54 countries in Africa, in their judgement, not CAF’s judgement, regard the decisions of our judicial bodies as fair, with integrity and impartiality,” he said.
CAF overturned the outcome of the AFCON 2025 final, stripping Senegal of the title and awarding a 3–0 victory to Morocco after upholding an appeal by the Moroccan football federation.
The decision followed findings that Senegal violated Article 82 of CAF regulations during the match, resulting in forfeiture.
Senegal had originally won the final 1–0 on 18 January 2026, courtesy of an extra-time goal by Pape Gueye.
However, the match was marred by controversy after Senegalese players walked off the pitch for approximately 15–20 minutes in protest of a penalty awarded to Morocco.
CAF subsequently ruled that the walk-off constituted a breach of regulations, leading to the reversal of the result.
The ruling has sparked widespread debate across the continent, with the Senegalese Football Federation expected to challenge the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.