A football match is supposed to take ninety minutes. The final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations has now been going for nearly nine months, and on Thursday it moves into a room in Lausanne. The Court of Arbitration for Sport hears Senegal's appeal against the decision that stripped them of a title they believed they had won on the pitch in Rabat in January. Whoever lifts the trophy in the end, Morocco or Senegal, will do it without a ball in sight.
How a winning night became a forfeit
The final itself was chaotic. With the game goalless deep into stoppage time, Senegal thought Ismaila Sarr had scored a dramatic winner, only for referee Jean Jacques Ndala to reveal he had already whistled for a Moroccan free-kick. A VAR review in the 98th minute then gave Morocco a penalty. Senegal coach Pape Thiaw led some of his players and staff down the tunnel, and fans clashed with security in the stands before play restarted.
Brahim Diaz had the chance to end Morocco's wait for a first Afcon title since 1976 in the 124th minute, but his Panenka-style chip ended up in the arms of Edouard Mendy. Pape Gueye's extra-time strike then made it 1-0 to Senegal, who lifted the trophy for a second time. Sadio Mane was named best player of the tournament. That, everyone thought, was that.
Morocco's federation complained to Caf, pointing to Article 82 of the competition rules, which says a team that leaves the ground before the regular end of a match without the referee's permission is considered the loser. In March a Caf appeals board agreed, ruled that Senegal had forfeited, and handed Morocco a 3-0 win. Senegal's federation called the decision unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable, and took it to Cas.
What Cas can and cannot do on Thursday
Cas was founded in 1984, sits in Lausanne and handles more than 900 cases a year across over 50 sports. For bodies that recognise its authority, its ruling is final apart from rare cases where Switzerland's highest court sets it aside on a narrow set of technicalities. Senegal's appeal will go before three arbitrators, led by 76-year-old Frenchman Gerald Simon, a Cas member for 23 years. The hearing is private at the request of the parties and is expected to finish on Thursday afternoon.
Anyone hoping for a quick answer has already been warned. Cas has said it cannot say when a decision will come, only that it will not arrive on the day of the hearing. Its code says appeal verdicts should land within four months of a hearing, although guidelines suggest panels aim for under three. It can be faster. When Manchester City appealed their Uefa ban to Cas in 2020, the hearing was on 8 June and the verdict, in City's favour, came on 13 July.
The damage already done
Whatever the panel decides, the story has left marks. Caf president Patrice Motsepe said back in March that the confederation would respect whatever Cas rules, but a reversal would be a second blow to the reputation of an organisation already criticised for handing Morocco the title after the fact. Some, including a former senior Caf official, argued that only the referee has the power to abandon a match after a walk-off.
Football's lawmakers have not waited around either. In April Ifab said a referee may show a red card to any player who leaves the field in protest at a decision, with the same applying to team officials who incite a walk-off, and that a team causing a match to be abandoned will in principle forfeit. Thiaw lost his job as Senegal coach after the team went out in the last 32 of the World Cup. Walid Regragui, in the Moroccan dugout in January, was dismissed in March.
The ill feeling between the two federations is not going away soon. Morocco's hierarchy believe the scenes beamed around the world tarnished the first Afcon hosted by the kingdom since 1988. Senegal and its government have leaned into a view held across the continent that Morocco holds too much influence in African football, and they have their own grievances, from laser pens aimed at players' eyes to ball boys moving Mendy's towel. The next Afcon is due in June and July next year, and a rematch on the pitch would settle more than any panel can.
Context: Senegal v Morocco, Afcon 2025 final, Rabat, January 2026. Pitch result 1-0 to Senegal after extra time (Gueye). Caf appeals board ruled a 3-0 forfeit win for Morocco in March. Cas hearing Thursday 8 October 2026, panel led by Gerald Simon. Source reporting: BBC Sport.
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