The fake CAS verdict on the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations: why the viral document doesn't hold up

A document presented as a CAS arbitral ruling, supposedly restoring Senegal’s 2025 African champion title, has been circulating widely on social media for several days. A thorough verification reveals it is a fake.

The matter dates back to January 18, 2026, when Senegal was crowned African champion on the pitch against Morocco, the host nation of the competition. Two months later, on March 17, 2026, the CAF decided to strip this title from the Lions of Senegal and award it to the Lions of Atlas, citing the numerous controversies that marred the final. The Senegalese Football Federation immediately appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn this decision, in proceedings also targeting the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.

The viral document bears the case number CAS 2026/A/10857. However, when the Senegalese appeal was officially registered, the CAS communicated the reference CAS 2026/A/12295 in a statement dated March 25, 2026. Each proceeding opened before the CAS is assigned a unique number: this discrepancy alone is enough to disqualify the document.

The date on the purported ruling raises equally serious doubts. The text is dated June 10, 2026 and suggests the matter has already been definitively resolved. Yet at the time the appeal was registered, the CAS specified that an arbitral panel still had to be constituted, a procedural calendar would be set later, and the parties would have several weeks to submit their written arguments. No hearing or decision date had been announced. A verdict rendered so quickly, before even the constitution of the arbitral panel, is procedurally hardly credible.

Finally, the document circulates only as an image posted on social media. Neither the CAS, nor the CAF, nor the Senegalese Football Federation have published any statement confirming the existence of such a decision. No authenticated ruling is available on the official channels of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. A verdict likely to overturn the Africa Cup of Nations record would have been immediately relayed by the institutions concerned.

At this stage, the CAS has therefore rendered no decision in the dispute between the Senegalese Football Federation, the CAF, and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. The outcome of the dispute remains open, and the 2025 African champion title officially remains awarded to Morocco.