Senegal and Morocco handed fines and bans after AFCON final farce

The fines together total more than $1m, and players from both teams are banned after Africa Cup of Nations final walk-off and chaos.Published On 29 Jan 2026African football’s governing body has issued fines worth more than $1m and banned Senegal’s coach and Senegalese and Moroccan players over a shambolic African Cup of Nations (AFCON) final that involved a walk-off protest by one of the teams, fans trying to storm the field and fights among journalists.The bans, announced on Thursday, apply only to African games and not the World Cup, which kicks off in June and which Senegal and Morocco have both qualified for.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Boxing: Fury to return to the ring against Makhmudov in Aprillist 2 of 4Why is Pakistan backing Bangladesh in its T20 World Cup row with India?list 3 of 4Milan mayor blasts ICE as ‘militia that kills’ before Winter Olympics rolelist 4 of 4‘I didn’t set out to break records’: Pakistan’s first female MMA fighterend of listThe sanctions announced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) include fines totalling $615,000 for the Senegalese Football Federation and $315,000 for the Royal Moroccan Football Federation for unsporting and improper conduct by their players, coaching staff and supporters, among other offences.At the January 18 AFCON finale, Senegal’s players walked off the pitch, led by coach Pape Thiaw, in protest against a penalty awarded late in regulation time to the hosts, Morocco. Thiaw, who last week defended his side’s actions, was banned for five African games and given a fine of $100,000 for bringing the game into disrepute, the African confederation said.The game restarted after a delay of about 15 minutes. Morocco missed the penalty, and Senegal won the African title 1-0 after extra time.The heated final in Rabat also saw supporters trying to storm the field, Morocco’s and Senegal’s players scuffling on the sidelines, reporters from the two countries fighting in media areas and a bizarre sequence in which Moroccan ball boys tried to seize a towel being used by Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy – in an apparent bid to distract him and help their team win the continental title.