{"id":29316,"date":"2026-03-20T10:09:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T08:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=29316"},"modified":"2026-03-20T12:10:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T10:10:27","slug":"morocco-fans-celebrate-justice-after-afcon-title-decision-but-appeal-worries-linger","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/morocco-fans-celebrate-justice-after-afcon-title-decision-but-appeal-worries-linger\/","title":{"rendered":"Morocco fans celebrate &#8216;justice&#8217; after AFCON title decision but appeal worries linger"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Moroccan fans have welcomed their team&#8217;s controversial coronation as Africa Cup of Nations champions, though some urged caution as Senegal prepare to challenge the ruling that has sent shockwaves through African football.<\/div>\n<div>The Confederation of \u200bAfrican Football (CAF) declared Morocco champions on Tuesday after ruling Senegal forfeited the January 18 final in Rabat by \u200cwalking off the pitch for 14 minutes in protest at a potentially decisive penalty awarded against them.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Although Senegal later returned and secured a 1-0 extra-time victory, CAF&#8217;s Appeal Board reversed the result, awarding Morocco a 3-0 victory.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The Senegalese Football Federation said it would appeal the &#8220;unprecedented and unacceptable&#8221; \u200bruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), while the Royal Moroccan Football Federation said the &#8220;strict application&#8221; \u200bof the rules would help African football.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Reactions within Morocco were largely positive, with supporters hailing \u2060the ruling as overdue justice.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cThe surprise was that a fair decision was actually made, but if we look at \u200bthe reasoning behind it, it is logical and does justice to the team that truly deserved the title. It also \u200bsets a precedent &#8211; walking off the pitch because a match is slipping away is not acceptable,\u201d said Abdelmalek Hamza, a fan in Casablanca.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cThe decision was taken firmly, and the national team and the Moroccan people deserve this victory and this title.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Rabat-based Oussama Ouaddich, who attended the \u200btournament, welcomed the verdict, saying: &#8220;I am overjoyed. We deserved this trophy. After a brutal injustice, justice is finally rendered \u200bto Morocco.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>However, some fans remained cautious with a potential appeal to CAS still pending.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cHonestly, I am not happy yet. \u200cWe need \u2060to wait and see what happens with the appeal. The decision is not final,\u201d said Imane Fakhir, a university student.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Omar Fallouji, a football fan in Casablanca, added: \u201cThankfully, CAF was fair to us, and I hope the trophy will be given to us after the Senegalese team appeal to CAS.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Others expressed little concern over the appeal.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;The Cup was stolen from us. \u200bCAF&#8217;s decision corrected the situation \u200band made justice to \u2060the Moroccan people,&#8221; said Mohammed Akherraz, a lawyer in Rabat.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Appealing the decision is only to gain time but it is a right that would not alter the result.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Some Moroccans highlighted \u200bthe need to avoid escalating tensions with Senegal.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cAs a Moroccan, yes I am proud. \u200bBut what I \u2060want even more is for this not to become a wound between our peoples,\u201d said Bilal Jouahri, an Entrepreneur in Rabat.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cLet the lawyers, the committees, the institutions do their work. The anger and insults serve nobody. Football lives on emotion, but emotions \u2060pass. \u200bIt is just a game and should not fuel hate,\u201d he added.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>CAF \u200bPresident Patrice Motsepe defended the ruling on Wednesday, saying it was important that decisions by the organisation\u2019s disciplinary and appeals bodies were respected while Senegal&#8217;s players ridiculed \u200bthe decision on social media.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8211;Reuters&#8211;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":20530,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-29316","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Although Senegal later returned and secured a 1-0 extra-time victory.","published_date":"","news_description":"Although Senegal later returned and secured a 1-0 extra-time victory","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/29316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/29316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29360,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/29316\/revisions\/29360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=29316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}