Afcon final to play out in court - when will Morocco or Senegal be crowned champions?

What the report says

The Court of Arbitration for Sport is due to hear Senegal’s appeal over the decision to strip them of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title, in a case that BBC Sport says has effectively turned the tournament’s final into a legal dispute months after the match. The original final in Rabat ended amid major controversy, with Senegal eventually celebrating what they believed was a 1-0 extra-time win over hosts Morocco after a chaotic stoppage-time sequence and a walk-off by Senegal’s bench and some players.

According to BBC Sport, Morocco’s federation challenged the outcome under CAF regulations, arguing Senegal had left the field before the end of the match. CAF’s appeals board later ruled that Senegal had forfeited and awarded Morocco a 3-0 win. Senegal’s football federation rejected that decision as unfair and appealed to CAS, which is now hearing the case in private in Lausanne.

BBC Sport notes that fans should not expect an immediate ruling. CAS has said its decision will not come on the day of the hearing, and the process can still take weeks or months. The outcome matters not only for which federation is officially recognized as champion, but also for the credibility of CAF’s disciplinary process and, more broadly, how walk-offs and abandoned matches are handled in football rules.

The article also says the dispute has already influenced the sport’s laws, with IFAB later tightening guidance on players or officials leaving the field in protest. Whatever CAS decides, tensions between the Moroccan and Senegalese federations are likely to remain.