The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced that it expects to issue its ruling regarding the dispute over the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final between Morocco and Senegal in late November, extending the wait for a final resolution by several additional weeks.
In an official statement released on Monday, October 19, the tribunal explained that the arbitral panel is continuing its deliberations following a hearing held behind closed doors at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, on October 8.
“The arbitrators have decided to issue a full award containing the legal reasoning, and this process requires several weeks,” CAS stated, meaning that late November represents an anticipated timeline for finalizing the reasoned decision rather than a fixed, definitive date for its announcement.
The controversy dates back to the final hosted in Rabat on January 18, 2026, which concluded on the pitch with a 1-0 extra-time victory for Senegal courtesy of a Pape Gueye strike, before the events of the match spiraled into a legal dispute over the result and the title.
The closing minutes of regulation time saw Senegalese players walk off the pitch in protest against a penalty awarded to Morocco, before the team subsequently returned to complete the match. Édouard Mendy saved Brahim Díaz’s spot-kick, sending the game into extra time where Senegal ultimately prevailed.
However, the CAF Appeals Committee overturned the result on March 17, accepting the Moroccan appeal and annulling the previous decision of the Disciplinary Committee, declaring Senegal to have forfeited the final and awarding Morocco a 3-0 victory.
The committee relied on Articles 82 and 84 of the tournament regulations, deeming the Senegalese national team’s conduct to fall under circumstances that warrant a loss by forfeiture—an interpretation rejected by the Senegalese Football Federation, which promptly lodged an appeal.
Senegal filed their appeal with CAS on March 25 against CAF and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, demanding the annulment of the decision and officially declaring Senegal as tournament champions, shifting the battleground from CAF committees to the sports tribunal.
The CAF Appeals Committee’s decision remains in effect pending the court’s verdict on the appeal. CAS emphasized that only information released through its official channels is authoritative and that any announcement regarding the case will be published on its website as deliberations continue toward a complete award.
