There is an old and sacred principle in football: the match is decided on the pitch. It is a principle that has governed the beautiful game since its founding, transcending borders, cultures, and political systems. Yet last month, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) dealt that principle a devastating blow – one whose tremors are still being felt across the continent and beyond.
When CAF’s appeal board stripped Senegal of its 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title on March 17 and awarded it to Morocco two months after Senegal had won the January 18 final in extra time, it did not merely overturn a scoreline. It overturned the legitimacy of African football itself.
The reasoning offered by CAF, that Senegalese players had temporarily walked off the pitch in protest of a disallowed goal and a contentious late penalty, fails to justify so seismic a verdict. Temporary stoppages, referee disputes and player protests are not rare events in football. They have never before been grounds for stripping a champion of its crown and the decision which handed Morocco a 3-0 technical victory has provoked near-universal condemnation.
Former Liberian president and footballing icon, George Weah, the only African to win the Ballon d’Or said the ruling had “scarred and blemished” African football. His words carry the authority of both legend and statesman and they should ring loudly in the corridors of CAF’s headquarters. When voices of such stature speak in unison with millions of ordinary African fans, the governing body would be foolish to dismiss the outcry as noise.
The optics of this ruling are deeply troubling. Questions about the role of Fouzi Lekjaa – simultaneously Morocco’s budget minister and CAF’s first vice president in the appeal process have not been adequately answered.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has denied preferential treatment, yet has himself acknowledged the “mistrust” now pervading African football. Acknowledgement without accountability, however, is not leadership. When an institution’s own president concedes that trust has been broken, the institutional response must be far more vigorous than reassurances.
The Chronicle recognises that sporting bodies must have mechanisms for discipline and appeal. Rules must be enforced. But there is a critical distinction between enforcing rules and weaponising process.
The AFCON final was played to completion. A winner was determined. To reverse that outcome months later in a boardroom, not on the grass, sets a precedent that threatens the integrity of every future African football competition. If titles can be reassigned after the fact, what meaning does victory hold?
The damage extends well beyond sport. Senegal’s government has rightly appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, describing the ruling as “grossly illegal and profoundly unjust.”
Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has made his position unmistakable, the trophy sitting proudly behind him in photographs that have circled the globe. Senegal will not capitulate and frankly, nor should it. The Senegalese Football Federation is right to pursue every legal avenue available. CAF cannot be allowed to adjudicate its own controversies in isolation from international scrutiny.
The Chronicle believes the timing of this scandal is particularly cruel. The 2025 AFCON was shaping up to be a watershed moment, with record audiences and growing global respect for African football. European sceptics among them commentators who continue to dismiss AFCON as a minor tournament have been handed fresh ammunition.
French former coach Alain Giresse captured the grief shared by millions when he lamented what people would now say about African football. That it is not serious. That it is not rigorous. Years of hard-won credibility risk being undone by one catastrophic governance failure.
African football deserves better. Its players are world-class. Its fans are passionate and loyal beyond measure. Its tournaments, when well-governed, inspire a continent of over a billion people. The question now is whether CAF’s leadership possesses the courage to confront its own failures.
The ruling must be reviewed. The conflict of interest allegations must be independently investigated. And the governing body must undertake genuine, transparent reforms, not merely to restore Senegal’s honour, but to protect the future of the game on this continent.
We insist Football must be decided on the pitch. If CAF cannot guarantee that, then it is not merely Senegal’s title that has been stripped, it is Africa’s faith in the institution entrusted to steward its greatest game.
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