The long running dispute over the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations title is set to reach the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday, as Senegal challenges the decision that handed the championship to hosts Morocco.
The case follows a controversial ruling by the Confederation of African Football Appeal Board, which overturned Senegal’s 1 0 victory over Morocco in the final and declared the hosts 3 0 winners of the match.
Senegal had secured a dramatic victory in Rabat after scoring during extra time. However, the result became the subject of a major dispute after Senegal’s players temporarily left the pitch during the latter stages of regulation time following the award of a penalty to Morocco.
The Senegalese players remained off the field for about 14 minutes, with some reportedly returning to the dressing room in protest. They later came back and the match continued after Morocco failed to convert the penalty.
Senegal eventually scored in extra time to claim the trophy, but the victory was later challenged by CAF. Two months after the final, the CAF Appeal Board ruled that Senegal had forfeited the match by leaving the pitch without the referee’s permission.
The decision changed the official result to a 3 0 victory for Morocco and handed the North African hosts the AFCON title.
Senegal subsequently took the matter to CAS, filing its appeal on March 25 and asking the sports tribunal to overturn CAF’s decision and restore the original result.
The CAS hearing will take place in Lausanne, where representatives of Senegal, Morocco and CAF are expected to present their arguments before a three member panel. The panel will be chaired by French civil rights expert Professor Gerald Simon, alongside Italian international law professor Luigi Fumagalli and Germany based lawyer and professor Ulrich Haas.
One of the central issues will be the interpretation of CAF’s competition regulations. The rules state that a team that refuses to play or leaves the field before the scheduled end of a match without the referee’s authorisation can be declared the loser and eliminated from the competition.
Senegal are expected to argue that their temporary departure from the pitch should not be treated as an abandonment of the match, particularly because the players returned and completed the fixture.
Morocco, on the other hand, are expected to maintain that the regulation is clear and that leaving the field without the referee’s permission is enough to trigger the stated punishment, regardless of how long the players remained away.
The case could have significant implications for the official history of the 2026 AFCON and remains one of the most closely watched disputes in African football.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has confirmed that Thursday’s hearing will be held behind closed doors. However, no immediate ruling is expected.
According to CAS, the panel will begin its deliberations after hearing the arguments from the parties, but the final decision will be issued at a later date rather than on the day of the hearing.
