Caf president Motsepe acts on chaotic Morocco and Senegal Afcon final
Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe has confirmed the introduction of new regulations to address deficiencies from the chaotic 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final between Morocco and Senegal.
The prestigious tournament concluded in controversial circumstances when the West Africans were stripped of their hard-fought title by an appeal board in March.
That drastic sanction was applied after the Lions of Teranga walked off the pitch in protest over a contentious VAR penalty awarded to the hosts during second-half injury time.
Senegal eventually returned to secure a 1-0 victory after extra time, but the trophy was subsequently handed to their North African opponents.
New regulations implemented
The South African official insists that decisive steps have now been taken by the governing body to ensure such chaotic scenes are never repeated.
Those controversial events in Rabat also included stadium security clashing with fans and widespread accusations of unsportsmanlike conduct surrounding a goalkeeper’s towel.
“We’ve recognised what the deficiencies were that led to the unfortunate incidents we had in Morocco.”
“We’ve introduced new laws, new regulations which will ensure that doesn’t happen again.”
The 64-year-old acknowledged that while progress has been made in building trust around refereeing technology, significant structural challenges remain.
Reputational damage and appeals
The unprecedented decision to overturn the on-pitch result drew intense international criticism and severely dented the organisation’s global credibility.
Former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker publicly branded the situation an “embarrassment” that allowed the sporting world to mock the continent.
The Senegalese Football Federation swiftly labelled the ruling a “robbery” and immediately escalated the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In response to the severe reputational fallout, the recently re-elected president embarked on a diplomatic tour of both nations to repair fractured relationships.
“We are waiting for the judgement of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and African football is continuing to grow and develop.”
“Whatever decision comes, we will respect and implement.”