Morocco’s new head coach, Mohamed Ouahbi, has congratulated his country following CAF’s controversial decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and award it to Morocco.
Senegal had originally won the final 1-0 on January 18 in Rabat, but CAF ruled that the Senegalese players’ walk-off in protest of a late penalty for Morocco constituted a breach of regulations. Although Senegal returned to the pitch and Morocco missed the penalty, Pape Gueye scored the winning goal for Senegal in extra time.
“First of all, I would like to congratulate all Moroccans, the staff, the players, and the federation on the good news we got two days ago, which is well-deserved,” Ouahbi said while announcing his first squad for Morocco’s upcoming friendlies against Ecuador and Paraguay.
The 49-year-old coach, who replaced Walid Regragui earlier this month, added, “But it’s important to focus on the present and the future. My goal is to make the team competitive for the World Cup.”
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The Moroccan federation welcomed CAF’s decision as “respectful of the rules,” while the Senegalese Football Federation said it had instructed lawyers to appeal the ruling before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), calling it “unjust.”
Earlier, CAF had imposed disciplinary sanctions, including fines, on both countries’ federations for unsportsmanlike conduct, but had not questioned the match result. Morocco, who reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup under Regragui, will compete in Group C at this year’s tournament alongside Brazil, Scotland, and Haiti.
