Senegal Coach Takes AFCON Trophy To Military Base Amid Disqualification Row

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) may have stripped Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title, but retrieving the trophy from the West African nation appears to be a challenging task, with reports indicating coach Pape Thiaw has taken it to a military base.

Senegal, who initially defeated Morocco 1-0 in the final, were “declared to have forfeited the final match” by CAF earlier this week. This decision followed their temporary walkout during the summit clash in Rabat, protesting a controversial penalty. After a 17-minute stoppage, Senegal returned to win 1-0 in extra time. However, upholding Morocco’s appeal, CAF has now recorded the result as “3-0 in favour of Morocco.”

The contentious situation has escalated, with Senegalese president Bassirou Diomaye Faye condemning CAF’s decision and urging the national football federation to seek justice at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Amidst the controversy, Spanish sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo (via First Post) reported that Senegal has moved the AFCON trophy to a military base, intending not to return it. Videos circulating on social media show coach Pape Thiaw with the trophy, surrounded by army personnel.

Augustin Senghor, a Senegalese CAF executive committee member and former head of the Senegalese Football Federation, denounced the decision as an “injustice”: “In a situation like this, we have to fight against injustice. Football is fair play, football is played is on the field, not in offices. What happened with Caf was unacceptable.”

“When you see a committee taking such a decision in violation of our rules, in violation of the Fifa laws of the game, to take the trophy and give it to Morocco, I think it is something very abject. We have to denounce it.”

The Senegalese Football Federation announced on Thursday its intention to appeal CAF’s ruling at CAS.