AFCON 2025: Hearing before the CAS, Morocco’s silence surprises

The Moroccans opt for silence

Africa Today at 10:39

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AFCON 2025: Hearing before the CAS, Morocco’s silence surprises

Approached after Thursday’s hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), representatives of Morocco and Senegal declined to comment.

In the most recent final of the AFCON 2025, the Lions of Teranga had won the final on the pitch (1-0), before the CAF Appeals Jury ultimately decided to award victory to Morocco by forfeit (0-3). This was due to the Senegalese players’ temporary withdrawal during the match. The decision was subsequently challenged by the Senegalese Football Federation, which now hopes to reclaim its title before the sports jurisdiction.

After several hours of arguments before the CAS on Thursday, the two camps adopted very different attitudes as they left the hearing. While the Senegalese representatives spoke to assure reporters that “Senegal defended itself well” as they left the hearing, Morocco preferred to keep a low profile.

🗣️ « 𝗖̧𝗔 𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗧 𝗗𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗥 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗟𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗦 𝗝𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦 𝗩𝗢𝗜𝗥𝗘 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗟𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗦 𝗦𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 » ⏳🇸🇳🇲🇦 Matthieu Reeb, directeur général du TAS, a prévenu que le verdict sur le vainqueur de la CAN 2025 ne tomberait pas ce jeudi, jour de l'audience à Lausanne 👇 « Le panel du TAS va entendre l'affaire tout au long de la journée et 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲́𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲́𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝘀. Je ne pense pas que ce sera aujourd'hui, ni demain. 𝗝'𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗶𝘀 𝗮̀ 𝗽𝗲𝘂 𝗽𝗿𝗲̀𝘀 𝘀𝘂̂𝗿. Si jamais les arbitres veulent rédiger une décision complète avec les motifs juridiques. Les faits sont établis, ils sont clairs, et les discussions porteront sur des questions de procédure et certains aspects juridiques. 𝗝𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗰'𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗿𝗲̀𝘀 𝗹𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗲. Je sais que c'est long, mais le calendrier, le déroulement de la procédure, a été établi 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗰 𝗹'𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲́𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲. Tout le monde connaissait donc ce calendrier et notre objectif, en tant que TAS, en tant qu'instance de dernier recours, est de rendre une décision fondée 𝗱𝗲̀𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗿𝗲̀𝘀 𝗹'𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗱'𝗮𝘂𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗱'𝗵𝘂𝗶. » 🎙️ @le_Parisien
— Vibes Foot (@VibesFoot) October 8, 2026

Indeed, according to information from RMC Sport, no Moroccan representative wished to speak to the media present as they left the CAS. This silence contrasts with the brief reaction from the Senegalese camp. As a reminder, both parties are subject to a total ban on disclosing the content of the discussions held during the hearing.

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.