- Senegal are expected to be among the CAF disciplinary committee despite winning the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
- Lions of Teranga thanked Pape Gueye when they won many chances to beat Morocco in Rabat and win their second title
- However, the events of the last minutes that saw the Senegalese players leave for a while could get them into trouble
Senegal were crowned African champions for the second time in history after defeating Morocco in the final.
Source: Getty Images
Pape Gueye scored the only goal of the game in the fourth minute of extra time after a stoppage time that was full of any possible controversy.
From the disallowed goal to the last penalty that was missed to fans fighting with security officials, to Senegal leaving the field, even the best sportswriters would not have thought of this.
Sadio Mane’s decision to ask his teammates to come back and finish the game was vindicated when he scored his second star in his last match of the season. AFCON.
AFCON rules on refusing to play, leaving the field
However, Simba wa Teranga and their coach are not out of the woods yet because CAF will definitely go through what happened in Rabat.
Head coach Pape Thiaw was seen asking his players to leave the field in protest, which violates Chapter 35 of the AFCON rules.
Furthermore, the rules state that any team that leaves the field before the end of the game, without the referee’s permission, will be deemed to have lost.
“If, for any reason, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report to the match, or refuses to play or leaves the field before the regular end of the match without the referee’s permission, it will be considered a failure and will be permanently removed from the current competition. The same will apply to teams that were previously removed from the competition by CAF’s decision.”
Source: Twitter
Possible sanctions that Senegal may face after AFCON 2025
The immediate punishment is expulsion from the tournament, but since Senegal returned to the field and finished the match, their case could be different.
The CAF disciplinary committee may intervene and punish the Teranga Lions.
“The team will be permanently disqualified from the competition. This team will lose its match 3-0 unless the opponent has achieved a better result when the match was stopped; in this case, this score will be maintained. The Organizing Committee may take further action.”
Senegal could also face sanctions after their fans were seen clashing with security officials as they tried to invade the stadium, which is illegal.
Senegal’s coach apologizes after the AFCON 2025 final
Thiaw has apologized for his role in all the fights after asking the players to leave the field.
“I didn’t appreciate at all that I told my players to leave the field. I apologize for football. After reflection, I sent them back. Sometimes, you can answer in the heat. But we accept the referee’s mistakes. We apologize for football,” he said.
The president of the Cameroon Football Federation, Samuel Eto’o, has already been banned and fined $20,000 (KSh 2.5 million) from AFCON 2025 for misconduct.
Why was Senegal given a fake AFCON trophy despite emerging as champions
In another report, Senegal will not retain the original AFCON trophy after defeating Morocco in the final.
CAF changed the rules in 2002 which prevented teams from retaining the original trophy.
The winning teams are instead given a fake trophy.
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