What a major competition like this? The first-ever 'change of the winning team' revolution → All-time backlash. "I lost the trophy because of my dirty work.""

*This content was translated by AI.

The status of the Continental Cup is simply at rock bottom. The world's soccer community was in a state of intense anger and shock as the winner of the 2025 African Football Confederation (CAF) Africa Cup of Nations was overturned from Senegal to Morocco in two months.

British media 'BBC' reported on the 20th (Korea Standard Time), "Even a high-ranking official within the federation criticized CAF's decision to deprive Senegal of the championship title and turn Morocco into the championship, calling it mean."

The beginning of the incident came in the final of the tournament in Rabat, Morocco, in January. Shortly before the end of the regular time when Senegal and Morocco faced 0-0 at the time, when Morocco's penalty was declared through VAR, the Senegalese team, which was protesting, left the ground without permission. The game was suspended for about 17 minutes, but then resumed, and Senegal lifted the trophy with a 1-0 victory in extra time with the winning goal of Pape Gueye while Morocco's Brahim Díaz missed.

However, the Moroccan Football Association (FRMF) appealed Senegal's decision to leave the group as a refusal to play. Initially, the CAF disciplinary committee fined Senegal only $1 million (about 1.48 billion won) and maintained the result of the game, but the higher-level agency, the Appeals Committee, reversed it and declared Senegal's 0-3 forfeiture and disqualified them from winning.

The world's soccer community was shocked by the revolutionary change of the winner in about two months. It is unprecedented in the history of soccer that the results of the finals in such an international major tournament are overturned after death and the winner is changed.

Even a high-ranking official on the continent was enraged. "We have to fight injustice," Augustin Saint-Gor, CAF executive member and former president of the Senegalese Football Association, told 'BBC'. Soccer is played in the stadium, not in the office, he strongly condemned, adding, "It is a very mean act for the committee to take the trophy and give it to Morocco in violation of its own rules and FIFA's game regulations."

Abdullaye Pal, president of the Senegal Football Association (FSF), also complained, "From a legal point of view, there is no reason for Senegal to lose the title," adding, "It is an unfair and unprecedented incomprehensible decision." Senegal plans to immediately appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), seeing it as a result of pressure from Morocco.

Morocco, on the other hand, welcomes the decision. Morocco coach Mohamed Ouabi, who succeeded Walid Regragui earlier this month, countered, "Morocco's qualification for the championship is sufficient."

The arrow of criticism over the incident is also directed at CAF President Patrice Motsepe and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Former Senegal national team coach Claude Leroy said, "CAF has been absent from high-quality leaders for a long time. "This decision completely killed the spirit of this tournament, which was the most beautiful in history," he pointed out.

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*This content was translated by AI.