Two months after one of the most chaotic finals in Africa Cup of Nations history, the result has been officially reversed — and the fallout has been immediate and deeply felt on both sides.
Late on Tuesday evening, the Confederation of African Football ruled that Senegal had forfeited January’s final by walking off the pitch in protest at a refereeing decision. Although the match eventually resumed and Senegal won 1-0 on the night, Caf ruled that the walkout constituted a forfeiture. Morocco, who hosted the tournament in Rabat, have been handed the title.
In Morocco, the news triggered scenes of pure jubilation. Fans poured into the streets across the country — videos circulated of supporters in Tangier driving through the city waving flags, banging tambourines and leaning on their horns. Flares lit up the night. Moroccan journalist Jalal Bounour told BBC Newsday it had been “a sleepless night” as fans welcomed the decision with “great excitement and joy.” For Moroccans, there was a strong sense that a wrong had finally been corrected.
“Morocco was certainly wronged and the facts were clear,” one man in Rabat told the BBC. “The cup has returned to us — the cup that was denied to us,” a woman in the national team shirt told a local sports channel.
In Dakar, the mood could not have been more different. The decision landed like a hammer blow, with many Senegalese fans and officials refusing to accept it. “Football no longer exists. This is not football,” Daouda Seck told AFP. “We’re shocked. Corruption has ended up winning.”
The Senegalese government issued a formal response, announcing it would appeal the decision and calling it damaging to Caf’s credibility. It also called for an independent international investigation into suspected corruption within Caf’s governing bodies. A local newspaper on Wednesday led with the headline: “The inside story of an unprecedented scandal.”
“Caf is set to become a laughing stock in the football world,” one Senegal fan told the BBC. Others argued simply that the best team had won on the pitch and that the result there should have stood. “The rules of the sport should come into play,” student Ralf Nonga told AFP — though for Morocco’s supporters, those same rules were precisely the point.
