New Insights into the Senegal-Morocco Match Controversy
More than two months after the highly disputed final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), fresh information has surfaced regarding the officiating that may shed light on the match's controversial outcome. On January 18 in Rabat, Senegal emerged victorious on the pitch with a score of 1-0 after extra time. However, on March 17, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) awarded the victory to Morocco through an administrative decision, citing articles 82 and 84 of the regulations that stipulate a team that refuses to play or leaves the field before the match concludes is deemed to lose and eliminated from the competition.
In response, Senegal has taken the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), while the decisions made by the match referee, Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo, have become a focal point of contention. Recent weeks have seen these decisions scrutinized in several official reports reviewed by Le Monde, which notably highlight the discussions surrounding a twelve-minute interruption triggered by Senegalese players temporarily returning to the locker room.
Pressure on Referee During the Match
Prior to the validation of Morocco's victory by the appeal jury, the Moroccan side contested the initial sanctions imposed by the CAF. In a detailed memorandum spanning approximately forty pages, Tarik Najem, the general secretary of the Moroccan federation, referenced sensitive comments made by Olivier Safari, the president of the CAF's refereeing committee, during a February 13 meeting in Dar es-Salaam.
According to this document, Safari allegedly acknowledged that instructions had been relayed to the referee during the interruption to avoid issuing yellow cards to Senegalese players, which could have led to the expulsion of two players already cautioned. This action was purportedly aimed at "preserving the match" as the players returned to the field. The question remains whether the referee faced pressure from the governing body to refrain from penalizing Senegalese players, thereby allowing the final to continue uninterrupted. Regardless, while no yellow cards were issued to Sadio Mané's teammates, the CAF's appeal jury enforced the rule prohibiting a team from leaving the match, ultimately validating the victory for the Atlas Lions.
As reported by sports.fr.
