The Law on Morocco’s Side… The Royal Moroccan Football Federation Challenges CAF’s Integrity Following the 2025 Final Farce
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation has left no room for ambiguity or interpretation, as it submits a solid legal case to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), demanding the withdrawal of the 2025 Africa Cup title from the Senegalese national team. This comes in light of what Moroccan circles describe as a refereeing and behavioral farce that marked the final, in clear and explicit violation of the competition’s regulatory frameworks.
The Moroccan federation did not enter this dispute with emotional reactions or knee-jerk responses; instead, it armed itself with the law, relying on precise references from CAF’s own regulations, specifically Article 35 concerning withdrawals, which leaves no margin for interpretation when the legitimacy of matches is at stake.
Article 82 of the regulations clearly states that any team that withdraws, refuses to continue playing, or leaves the field before the end of the regulation time without the referee’s permission is considered defeated and eliminated from the competition. According to informed sources, this condition applies perfectly to what occurred in the championship final, where the normal course of the match was interrupted at a crucial moment, outside all legal controls.
Even more concerning, Article 84 goes further by imposing automatic penalties on any team that violates Articles 82 and 83, including final elimination and a loss by a score of 3-0, while opening the door for the organizing committee to take additional measures. This is seen by Rabat as a solid legal basis that not only nullifies the result of the match but also strips the title from someone who obtained it outside the spirit of the law.
In this context, the Moroccan federation emphasizes that the issue is not a sporting conflict with a specific national team but rather a principled battle defending the integrity of African competitions and refusing to turn continental finals into arenas of chaos or selective decisions.
Rabat believes that CAF is currently facing a true test of its credibility: either apply the laws as they are written, without discrimination or political calculations, or cement a dangerous precedent that undermines what remains of trust in African football.
Federation sources stressed that Morocco will not accept a “quick closure of files,” arguing that neglecting violations of this magnitude means legitimizing chaos and opening the door to repeated similar scenarios in the future, at the expense of teams that respect the law and abide by its spirit.
