The dispute over the final of CAN 2025 moves to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday, 8 October, with representatives of Senegal, Morocco and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) appearing at a hearing in Lausanne.
The case follows several months of written proceedings and centres on the Senegal Football Federation’s challenge to the decision that awarded the title to Morocco on a forfeit.
The hearing was scheduled to begin at 09:30 local time in Lausanne (GMT+2) at the CAS headquarters and is expected to continue into the afternoon.
Proceedings are being held behind closed doors, meaning the media will not be permitted to attend the discussions between the parties and the arbitrators.
The case will be heard by a three-person panel chaired by French arbitrator Gerald Simon. He will be joined by Italy’s Luigi Fumagalli and Germany’s Ulrich Haas. The proceedings will be conducted in French.
Each side will have the opportunity to present its position to the panel. Senegal is contesting the ruling that removed the benefit of the result it achieved on the pitch in the CAN 2025 final.
What the arbitrators will examine
The hearing will focus in particular on the events at the end of the match, including the temporary departure of Senegal’s players, their return to the pitch and the resumption of the game under the authority of referee Jean-Jacques Ndala.
The CAS will also consider the interpretation of Articles 82 and 84 of the CAN regulations. A central issue will be whether CAF had the authority to alter the sporting result after the match had ended.
The arbitrators may question the representatives of each party directly. Witnesses and experts identified in the written submissions may also be called to give evidence.
Once the arguments have been heard, the parties will make their final observations, with the defending party presenting its case last.
No immediate ruling is expected when the hearing concludes. The three arbitrators will withdraw to deliberate, and CAS has not yet announced when its final decision will be issued.
There are several possible outcomes. The panel could uphold CAF’s decision and leave Morocco as champions, rule in Senegal’s favour and validate the result recorded on the pitch, or cancel the challenged decision and send the case back to the competent authority.
Thursday’s hearing is therefore a significant stage in the dispute, but it will not bring the procedure to an end. After considering the arguments from all sides, CAS will still need time to examine the case before issuing its ruling in the sensitive African football dispute.