"FIFA Condemns 'Unacceptable' Behavior at AFCON Final as Senegal Faces Title Threat"

FIFA have slammed the “unacceptable” behaviour of Senegal after the controversy surrounding their Africa Cup of Nations victory over Morocco.

were crowned champions of Africa on Sunday as they beat 1-0 after extra time, but the win came following some of the most dramatic scenes likely to be found in football.

There were ugly scenes at the Afcon final including fans clashing with police and Senegal walking off the pitchCredit: Reuters Fifa have slammed the behaviour as ‘unacceptable’Credit: Shutterstock Editorial

The Lions of Teranga thought they had scored in the 92nd minute with , but referee Jean-Jacques Ndala had blown his whistle before the star had touched the ball due to believing had been fouled by Abdoulaye Seck.

The soft foul heightened the tension even more before Morocco were awarded a penalty at the other end with a controversial foul on Brahim Diaz at a corner moments later.

Vexed Senegal boss Pape Thiaw ordered his players to walk off the pitch in protest in the 100th minute, with each of them doing so except for former Liverpool star .

They began marching off in the 106th minute before returning to the pitch following Mane’s insistence they complete the game.

Fans in the Senegal end were seen clashing with police and .

The match eventually resumed in the 110th minute as Diaz stepped up to take the penalty, which he subsequently missed.

In the fourth minute of extra time, Papa Gueye scored the winner by blasting the ball into the roof of the net to get them over the line to claim a second Afcon crown.

However, President blasted the ugly scenes of the walk-off and fan behaviour as “unacceptable”.

He said: “We also witnessed unacceptable scenes on the field and in the stands – we strongly condemn the behaviour of some supporters as well as some Senegalese players and technical staff members.

“It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner, and equally, violence cannot be tolerated in our sport, it is simply not right.

“We must always respect the decisions taken by the match officials on and off the field of play.

“Teams must compete on the pitch and within the Laws of the Game, because anything less puts the very essence of football at risk.”

The African Football Federation also published a statement lamenting the behaviour and confirming “appropriate action” would be taken against anyone found guilty of inappropriate behaviour.

A statement from CAF said: “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 team or match organizers.

“CAF is reviewing all footage and will refer the matter to competent bodies for appropriate action to be taken against those found guilty.”

There has been suggestions Senegal could be stripped of the title with it being rewarded to Morocco due to a breach of CAF regulations.

The body has a rule stating if a team “refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered loser”.

But given Senegal completed the match this extreme punishment seems unlikely.

Fifa have previously hit teams with simultaneous monetary and reduced capacity orders as a result of fan disruption during games.

In September Fifa fined the Serbian FA £75,000 (80,000 Swiss francs) and ordered a reduced capacity for their next home game due to discriminatory behaviour by fans in a 5-0 defeat to .

Morocco boss Walid Regragui said of the fiasco: “The image we gave of African was rather shameful.

“Having to stop the game for more than 10 minutes with the world watching is not very classy.”

Senegal coach Thiaw apologised for his actions in telling his players to leave the pitch.

He told beIN Sports: “We did not agree with the [penalty] decision. That is all, and I do not want to go back over what happened in this match.

“After reflecting, I really did not like the fact that I told my players to leave the pitch. I apologise to football. I brought them back.

“Sometimes you can react in the heat of the moment. We asked ourselves whether that penalty could have been given if our goal before that had been allowed.

“But now we accept the referee’s mistakes, that can happen. We should not have done it, but it is already done. We apologise.”

It was the second time Senegal have won Afcon, having previously done so in 2021, while Morocco last won the tournament in 1976.