The scandal in the Africa Cup final won by Senegal against hosts Morocco has repercussions. The continental football association CAF handed out heavy fines and suspensions.
29.01.2026, 11:34
29.01.2026, 11:48
SDA
Senegal coach Pape Thiaw has been banned for five matches and fined 100,000 US dollars. However, the sanction will have no effect on this summer's World Cup, as it only applies to matches under CAF supervision.
Thiaw had "brought the game into disrepute" with his "unsportsmanlike conduct" during his team's 1-0 win after extra time. At the coach's behest, Senegal's team had almost left the pitch after a controversial penalty in stoppage time. Senegal's association was fined a total of 615,000 US dollars for various offenses.
Morocco also fined heavily
Morocco's association has to pay a total fine of 315,000 US dollars. A large part of the sum is due to the unsportsmanlike conduct of the ball boys. They stole Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy's towel several times in rainy weather.
Ismaël Saibari, who scored for Eindhoven against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, was also suspended for three matches. The midfielder must also pay a fine of 100,000 dollars. Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi was suspended for two matches. The one-match suspension is suspended for one year.
Request for disqualification rejected
Morocco's request to disqualify Senegal from the match was rejected by CAF. The hosts had argued that Senegal had abandoned the game by leaving the pitch. The federation did not agree with this view, as the match could be continued and completed when the Senegalese players returned. Therefore, the criteria for abandonment were not met. In extra time, Pape Gueye scored the winning goal for Senegal after Morocco's Brahim Diaz had missed the controversial penalty in injury time.
