The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear the Senegalese Football Federation’s appeal on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. The case challenges the Confederation of African Football’s decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and award it to hosts Morocco.
The 2025 AFCON final was played in Rabat on January 18. Senegal won 1-0 after extra time, with Pape Gueye scoring the decisive goal. Late in regular time, with the score 0-0, a VAR review awarded Morocco a penalty. Senegal players, led by then-coach Pape Thiaw, walked off the pitch in protest and stayed off for roughly 14 to 15 minutes. They returned, Brahim Díaz missed the spot-kick, and the match proceeded to extra time, which Senegal won.
On March 17, 2026, CAF’s appeal board ruled that Senegal had forfeited the match by leaving the field, recorded a 3-0 victory for Morocco, and awarded Morocco the title. The Senegalese Football Federation filed its appeal with CAS on March 25, 2026. Senegal seeks to overturn CAF’s ruling and be declared official champions. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation is also a party. The parties did not agree to an expedited procedure, so the case followed CAS’s standard timeline.
The hearing begins at 09:30 local time and is expected to conclude in the afternoon. It will be held in person and behind closed doors; none of the parties requested a public session, so journalists will not be admitted. Proceedings will be conducted in French. Representatives of the Senegalese and Moroccan federations will attend in Lausanne. CAF will be represented by its legal team.
The three-member panel consists of Professor Gérald Simon of France as president, Professor Luigi Fumagalli of Italy, and Professor Dr. Ulrich Haas of Germany. After the hearing the panel will begin deliberations. CAS has stated that no decision will be issued on October 8 and that it cannot yet say when the final ruling will be published. Official updates will appear only through CAS channels. The court has warned against circulating unofficial or false claims about the case.
The outcome will determine the official winner of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. CAF has previously indicated it will respect the CAS ruling.
