CAF condemns players and officials’ misconduct in AFCON 2025 final
By Joel Masibo, January 19, 2026The Confédération Africaine de Football (“CAF”) has condemned what it describes as ‘unacceptable behaviour’ following protest and confrontational incidents at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final between hosts Morocco and Senegal on Sunday, January 18, 2026, in Rabat.
Senegal’s head coach, Pape Thiaw, temporarily led his players in protest after the Lions of Teranga had a goal ruled out in stoppage time, and Morocco was awarded a penalty by the video assistant referee in the dying minutes of regulation time.
These dramatic unfoldings prompted Senegal’s players to walk off the pitch in protest. When they returned, Brahim Díaz missed the penalty with a duffed Panenka, and Senegal went on to win in extra time. However, following the Senegal’s players and technical bench’s conduct, CAF went ahead to release a statement on Monday, January 19, 2026.
CAF roars
”The Confédération Africaine de Football (“CAF”) condemns the unacceptable behaviour of some players and officials during the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Final between Morocco and Senegal in Rabat last night. CAF strongly condemns any inappropriate behaviour which occurs during matches, especially those targeting the refereeing team or match organisers,” the statement said in part.
Africa’s football governing body has also said it will launch an investigation into the incident, and disciplinary action will be taken against those found guilty. ”CAF is reviewing all footage and will refer the matter to competent bodies for appropriate action to be taken against those found guilty,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the Morocco head coach, Walid Regragui, accused Thiaw of having brought shame on African football following the touchline misconduct.
“The image we’ve given of Africa is shameful. A coach who asks his players to leave the field…What Pape did does not honour Africa,” Regragui said.
“He had already started in the [pre-match] press conference. He wasn’t classy. But he is a champion, so he can say whatever he wants. We stopped the match in the eyes of the world for 10 minutes. That didn’t help Brahim. That doesn’t excuse Brahim for the way he hit the penalty. He hit it like that, and we have to accept it. We were one minute from being African champions. That’s football. It’s often cruel. We missed what for some was the opportunity of a lifetime.” Regragui added.
The situation escalated thereafter as Thiaw stormed out of a press conference after he was booed by journalists.