Morocco says stripping Senegal of AFCON win ‘upholds rights and integrity’

The football federation of Morocco says it welcomes the CAF Appeal Board decision to award it the 2025 AFCON title.The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) has commended the decision to award its country the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title, which was stripped from Senegal.The FRMF “welcomes the decision, which reaffirms the primacy of competition regulations and reinforces the conditions necessary for the proper conduct of international tournaments”, the federation said in a statement on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Luka and LeBron combine for 70 points as Lakers win 7th straight gamelist 2 of 4Olympics urged to drop reported gender test plans for female athleteslist 3 of 4World Baseball Classic: Underdogs Venezuela stun USA to win maiden titlelist 4 of 4Gavaskar links Sunrisers signing of Pakistan’s Abrar to Indian deathsend of listThe Confederation of African Football (CAF) had announced on Tuesday that its Appeal Board had awarded the tournament to Morocco, the defeated finalists, on January 18.The final, which Senegal won 1-0 in extra time, was delayed for 14 minutes when the Senegalese players and staff returned to the dressing room in protest against the awarding of an injury-time penalty to Morocco in the second half.When play eventually resumed, Moroccan striker Brahim Diaz missed the kick with Senegal going on to win the game thanks to Pape Gueye’s stunning strike.“From the outset, following the incidents that led to the interruption of the match, the FRMF maintained a clear and consistent position: the strict application of the governing regulations. The Federation’s approach was solely guided by this principle,” the FRMF statement read.“Following its appeal, CAF has now confirmed that the applicable regulations were not properly enforced.”Morocco appealed to CAF to overturn the result immediately after the final, which descended into chaos during and after the protest, and led to a pitch invasion, which resulted in 18 Senegalese fans being handed prison sentences.