Senegal paraded the Africa Cup of Nations trophy on Saturday before its friendly match against Peru at the Stade de France in Paris. The team took this step even after the Confederation of African Football stripped it of the 2025 title and awarded the trophy to Morocco. Senegal lodged an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and awaited a swift ruling.
The dispute began during the AFCON 2025 final in Rabat in January. Senegal led Morocco 1-0 in extra time after the hosts received a stoppage-time penalty. Senegal players walked off the pitch in protest for about 17 minutes. They later returned and secured the victory. However Morocco appealed the result.
The Moroccan Football Federation filed an appeal with CAF. On March 17 the CAF Appeal Board ruled that Senegal forfeited the final match. The board applied Article 84 of the AFCON regulations and recorded the result as a 3-0 win for Morocco. Consequently CAF declared Morocco the 2025 champions.
Senegal immediately rejected the ruling. The Senegalese Football Federation lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport on March 25. It sought to set aside the CAF decision and restore Senegal as the rightful winners. CAS confirmed receipt of the appeal and stated it would deliver a ruling as swiftly as possible.
Despite the CAF decision Senegal proceeded with the trophy parade at the Stade de France. Players displayed the trophy to fans ahead of the friendly against Peru. Moreover the Senegalese federation maintained that the team won the title on the pitch. It added that the legal battle continued while the physical trophy remained with Senegal.
Morocco declared the case closed after the CAF ruling. Moroccan officials threatened legal action against any display of the trophy by Senegal. However the parade took place without reported interruption from Moroccan authorities.
The Senegalese government earlier called for an independent investigation into alleged irregularities at CAF. Senegal also planned to add a second star to its kit to mark the disputed victory. The CAS appeal remained pending at the time of the parade.
