Football’s global and continental governing bodies, FIFA and the Confederation of African Football, have strongly condemned the disorderly scenes that overshadowed Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat, with CAF confirming it will take disciplinary action against those found responsible.
The AFCON 2025 final between hosts Morocco and Senegal descended into chaos late in normal time after referee Jean Jacques Mdala awarded Morocco a penalty following a VAR review for a challenge on Brahim Diaz, with the score still goalless. The decision sparked furious protests from Senegal’s players, most of whom walked off the pitch in protest. At the same time, clashes broke out in the stands involving some Senegalese supporters and Moroccan security personnel.
CAF issued a statement on Monday condemning the conduct of certain players and officials, while stopping short of assigning direct blame to either team. The continental body confirmed that it is reviewing all available footage and that the matter has been referred to its disciplinary organs.
“The Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) condemns the unacceptable behaviour from some players and officials during the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Final between Morocco and Senegal in Rabat last night,” the statement read.
“CAF strongly condemns any inappropriate behaviour which occurs during matches, especially those targeting the refereeing team or match organizers.
“CAF is reviewing all footage and will refer the matter to competent bodies for appropriate action to be taken against those found guilty.”
After intervention from former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane, one of the few Senegal players who initially remained on the pitch, the rest of the team eventually returned to resume the match. Senegal later went on to win the final with a spectacular extra time goal from Pape Gueye, stunning the vast majority of the 66,526 fans inside the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino also weighed in, describing the scenes as unacceptable and criticising both the walkout and the violence involving supporters. In a statement sent to AFP, he said: “We strongly condemn the behaviour of some ‘supporters’ as well as some Senegalese players and technical staff members. It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner.
“It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner, and equally, violence cannot be tolerated in our sport, it is simply not right.”
Infantino praised Morocco for hosting “a fantastic tournament, both as runners-up and exceptional hosts”, a timely boost ahead of their role as co-hosts of the men’s 2030 World Cup. He stressed that teams must respect the authority of match officials.
“We must always respect the decisions taken by the match officials on and off the field of play,” he said. “Teams must compete on the pitch and within the Laws of the Game, because anything less puts the very essence of football at risk.”
He added that the images from Sunday sent the wrong message to fans around the world. “It is also the responsibility of teams and players to act responsibly and set the right example for fans in the stadiums and millions watching around the world,” Infantino said.
“The ugly scenes witnessed today must be condemned and never repeated. I reiterated that they have no place in football and I expect that the relevant disciplinary bodies at CAF will take the appropriate measures.”
Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw later admitted he had made a mistake in instructing his players to leave the field. Speaking to broadcaster beIN Sports, he said: “After thinking about it, I realised that I shouldn’t have asked them to go off. I apologise for that.
“Sometimes you can react in the heat of the moment. Before that we scored a goal that was not given. But now we accept that referees do make mistakes and we apologise.”
Morocco coach Walid Regragui expressed concern about the wider impact of the incident on the reputation of African football.
“The image we gave of African football was rather shameful. Having to stop the game for more than 10 minutes with the world watching is not very classy,” said Regragui.
CAF reiterated that investigations are ongoing and confirmed that sanctions will follow once its disciplinary processes are completed.
