The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced on Monday, October 19, 2026, in Lausanne that it would issue its full decision at the end of November on Senegal’s appeal regarding the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final against Morocco.
This deadline extends the wait by several weeks following the closed-door hearing held on October 8 at the CAS headquarters. The arbitral panel chose to accompany its decision with legal reasoning, which requires additional time, according to a statement from the body relayed by Reuters and El Botola.
The Senegalese Football Federation appealed to the CAS on March 25 to challenge the decision made eight days earlier by the Appeals Commission of the Confederation of African Football. The commission had declared Senegal forfeited and recorded a 3-0 victory for Morocco.
The procedure concerns the final played on January 18 in Rabat. The Senegalese players left the field for fourteen minutes after a penalty was awarded to Morocco at the end of regular time, before resuming the match. Morocco missed this penalty, and Senegal then won 1-0 after extra time.
The CAF ultimately ruled on appeal that the temporary withdrawal of the Senegalese national team fell under the provisions concerning a forfeit. The Senegalese federation is asking the CAS to overturn this decision and to reinstate the result achieved on the field.
At the hearing on October 8, the arguments of the Senegalese federation, the CAF, and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation were examined by three arbitrators. The tribunal had then suggested that a decision could be made quickly, before opting for a full ruling expected at the end of November.
