AFCON 2025: Senegal heavily fined for strike in final; coach Thiaw also received a punishment

Senegal coach Pape Thiaw has been suspended for five Confederation of African Football (CAF) matches following this month’s chaotic Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final against Morocco, it was announced on Wednesday.

A CAF statement said the tactician was guilty of “unsportsmanlike conduct” and “bringing the game into disrepute” during the decider in Rabat on January 18, which Senegal won 1-0 after extra time.

Senegalese strikers Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr, who play in the English Premier League, were given a two-match ban for “unsportsmanlike conduct towards the referee”.

The Senegal Football Federation (FSF) was fined a total of $615,000 (XOF 332 Million, INR 5.65 Cr.) for various violations during the final.

These include the “unsportsmanlike conduct of their players and coaching staff contrary to the CAF disciplinary code principles of fair play, loyalty and integrity”.

For “unsportsmanlike conduct”, Moroccan forward Ismael Saibari was given a three-match ban and a $100,000 fine, while captain and defender Achraf Hakimi was suspended for two matches.

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) was fined $200,000 (MAD 1.8 million) for “inappropriate behavior by the stadium ball boys”. During the final, some ball boys were seen stealing towels.

An additional fine of $100,000 was imposed for the “inappropriate behavior” of players and coaching staff who invaded the VAR review area and interfered with the work of the Congolese referee.

There was also a $15,000 fine after Moroccan fans used lasers to distract Senegalese players, bringing the total to $315,000.

The AFCON final saw a series of dramatic twists from late in regular time when Sarr had a goal disallowed for a foul on Hakimi, the 2025 African Player of the Year.

Furious protests

Morocco were then awarded a penalty when star striker Brahim Diaz made a mistake, sparking angry Senegalese protests.

Television showed Thiaw gesturing to his players. This action was widely interpreted as him telling his team to leave the field.

Most of the team walked away and went to the locker room, but star striker Sadio Mane did not follow them and later persuaded his teammates to return to the field so that play could resume.

Morocco missed the long-delayed penalty with a weak shot from Diaz, saved by Edouard Mendy. The match then went to extra time and Pape Gueye scored to give Senegal a second AFCON title.

As play was stopped due to the controversial penalty, some supporters in Senegalese colors threw projectiles, while others temporarily invaded the pitch before police and security personnel intervened.

Thiaw and the four players’ bans relate to CAF matches. They will not affect Senegal and Morocco’s preparations for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Senegal is in Group I with France, Norway and the winners of the intercontinental play-offs with Bolivia, Suriname and Iraq.

Morocco, which in 2022 became the first African or Arab country to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup, will face Brazil, Scotland and Haiti in Group C.

Thiaw will be excluded from the dugout for five of the six 2027 AFCON qualifiers involving Senegal in September, October and November. The players will miss the first two qualifying tournaments.

(1 USD = XOF 548.39, Rs. 91.96, MAD 9.04)

Published on January 29, 2026