CAS Should Confirm Morocco's Africa Cup of Nations 2025 Title, Legal Expert Says

Morocco should retain its 2025 African championship title: this is the analysis of Romain Bizzini, a Paris-based attorney specializing in sports law, who estimates a 75% chance of success for Morocco’s appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The facts date back to January 18, 2026. Senegal had won the Africa Cup of Nations final thanks to a strike from Pape Gueye, before leaving the pitch at 90+8 to protest a penalty awarded to Morocco. The Lions of Teranga eventually returned to the field, and Brahim Diaz missed his Panenka attempt. The CAF, on the decision of its appeals jury, subsequently stripped Senegal of its title and awarded the victory 3-0 by default to Morocco.

Senegal brought the matter before the CAS. But Bizzini, questioned by Spanish newspaper Sport, judges Senegal’s chances as “very weak.” He relies on the Africa Cup of Nations regulations, which explicitly state: “Any team that refuses to play or leaves the pitch before the end of the match without the referee’s authorization is considered defeated and permanently eliminated from the competition.” No provision allows for a match to be replayed despite a team’s withdrawal.

The attorney further emphasizes that the CAS is not intended to challenge the regulations of sports bodies or the laws of the game established by IFAB. The arbitrators of the Swiss tribunal are required to apply existing texts, not to reform them. “Given that the Court of Arbitration for Sport examines legal questions in the first instance, I believe that the chances of success for Senegal’s appeal seem very weak,” he concludes.

If the CAS confirms the CAF’s decision, the Senegalese federation will have to return the trophy, which would then be placed at the headquarters of the Moroccan federation in Salé.