AFCON 2025: A Final No One Will Forget
By Zainab Syed, Sport & Societies Staff Writer, BA Politics and International Relations
If you thought football finals were dramatic, the Senegal vs Morocco 2025 AFCON final was peak cinema, and not in the way anyone expected. What was meant to be a celebration of African football turned into a chaotic sequence of controversial decisions, a dramatic walk-off, and a winner that arrived only after the match almost collapsed.
The tension had been building long before kick off. The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) publicly accused the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the host committee for its organisation surrounding the final, raising concerns about the lack of security, insufficient ticket allocations to non-Moroccan fans, as well as unfair training ground arrangements. Although these claims did not dominate headlines in the same way as the events on the pitch, they set the tone for a match where the narrative was already divided.
Throughout the 90 minutes, the game was closely fought, yet no goals were scored by either side. It was only in the added time when the game shifted dramatically. Senegal appeared to have taken the lead when Ismaïla Sarr securely notched the ball in the back of the net. The goal was celebrated by Senegalese players and fans, but the referee Jean-Jacques Ndala immediately disallowed it for a foul involving Achraf Hakimi. The decision was made on the field, and the lack of visible clarity around the call sparked immediate unease. But what followed right after flipped the script entirely. The referee awarded Morocco a penalty after a VAR review following a challenge by Senegal defender Diouf on Brahim Díaz in the box. A last-minute penalty decision only served to fuel the fire of controversy. Senegal’s players and coaching were visibly furious, and the atmosphere in the stadium turned volatile.
It was at this point that Senegal coach Pape Bouna Thiaw instructed his players to leave the pitch in protest. The squad walked towards the tunnel, stopping the match for around 17 minutes. While many supporters online defended the decision, arguing the situation warranted such a response, a team walking off is still extremely rare and difficult to justify. Under the rules, refusing to continue can lead to a forfeit, which would have handed Morocco the title without a proper finish. The crowd’s reaction intensified, with reports of Senegalese fans throwing chairs and attempting to invade the pitch. Security staff and police moved to contain the unrest, but it was clear that the match had moved away from a sporting contest into a public confrontation, and the outcome was suddenly uncertain in a way that no one could foresee.
Amid the chaos, one figure stood out. Sadio Mané remained on the pitch while many of his teammates headed to the tunnel. He engaged with officials and staff, urging his team to return and complete the match. In post-match interviews, Mané explained he chose to stay because it would have been a “shame” and a “negative image for African football” if the final ended that way. His intervention helped pull the match back from the edge of collapse.
After the long delay and with a trophy on the line, the match resumed, and Diaz, who had become one of the tournament’s most influential players, stepped up to take the penalty. Yet what commenced shook the whole world. Diaz attempted a Panenka-style chip that was comfortably saved by Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. The miss was a dramatic plot twist that kept the score level and forced the match into extra time. Not long after the restart, Pape Gueye struck a powerful shot from outside the box and gave Senegal a 1-0 lead, and ultimately their claim to victory. The final whistle confirmed Senegal as champions, winning their second AFCON since 2021, while Morocco’s wait for a first title since 1976 continues.
The final’s drama did not end there. It exposed a deeper fault line in African football: the fragile trust between players, officials, and the governing body. The disallowed goal, followed by the VAR-awarded penalty, raised questions not just about a single decision, but about the consistency and credibility of officiating in major tournaments. In a competition where standards should be beyond dispute, the lack of visible clarity from the referee and VAR team made the process feel subjective rather than rule-based. That is a problem that cannot be dismissed as ‘part of the game’.
Yet the controversy also showed how quickly a high-stakes match can spiral when players feel the system failed them. Senegal’s walk-off was unprecedented, but it was also a symptom of deeper frustration. Protest is understandable when a team believes it is being treated unfairly, yet abandoning the pitch in a final risks normalising behaviour that undermines the sport’s integrity. The moment may have been emotional, but it was also reckless, forcing CAF to impose sanctions, turning the final into a governance crisis rather than a footballing triumph.
Morocco’s pursuit of legal action against Senegal highlights how the fallout could extend beyond CAF’s disciplinary process. The governing body also needs to address the wider problem: training, accountability, and the quality of officiating. If VAR is meant to bring certainty, the process must be communicated clearly to players and spectators. Whether it was human error or something more intentional, the final highlighted the need for transparency. With that said, controlling crowd behaviour and ensuring proper conduct from staff and personnel is equally important. Without these standards, the credibility of future football will always be at risk.
This year’s AFCON tournament has earned global attention for its passion and talent, but the final showed how quickly that reputation can be overshadowed. If the championship is to grow in credibility, CAF must prove that it can manage pressure, enforce discipline, and ensure that officials deliver consistency, because without those fundamentals, the achievement of African football will be undermined and the controversy will outshine the sport.
