The battle over the AFCON 2026 title has reached the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), with Senegal challenging a decision to award the trophy to Morocco.
The hearing is scheduled for Thursday, October 8, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations final 1-0 after extra time in January. However, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) later overturned the result.
CAF’s Appeal Board ruled that Senegal had forfeited the match after players temporarily left the pitch in protest against a penalty decision.
According to Reuters, Senegal is seeking to overturn that ruling and regain the title.
Why was Senegal stripped of the AFCON title?
The AFCON 2026 title dispute began during January’s final in Rabat.
Senegal’s players walked off the pitch after the referee awarded Morocco a penalty late in regular time.
The protest lasted approximately 14 minutes. Several Senegalese players returned to the dressing room before the team resumed playing.
Morocco missed the penalty, and the match went into extra time.
Senegal then scored to secure a 1-0 victory.
However, two months later, CAF’s Appeal Board ruled that Senegal had forfeited the match by leaving the field.
The board awarded Morocco a 3-0 victory, making the hosts the official champions under its ruling.
Senegal rejected the decision and filed an appeal with CAS on March 25.
Senegal and Morocco prepare legal arguments
The AFCON 2026 title dispute now centres on how CAF’s tournament regulations should be interpreted.
Senegal is expected to argue that the referee’s decisions during the match should remain final.
Its lawyers are also expected to argue that temporarily leaving the pitch is different from permanently abandoning a match.
Morocco is expected to defend CAF’s ruling.
Its argument is likely to focus on tournament rules that allow a team to be declared the loser if it leaves the field without the referee’s permission.
The dispute therefore concerns whether Senegal’s temporary walkout was enough to justify forfeiting the match.
CAS will hear arguments from Senegal, Morocco and CAF.
Three-member panel to examine appeal
A three-member CAS panel will review the case.
French legal expert Gerald Simon will preside over the proceedings.
He will be joined by Italian international law professor Luigi Fumagalli and German-based lawyer and University of Zurich law professor Ulrich Haas.
The hearing will take place behind closed doors.
CAS has confirmed that its panel will begin deliberations after hearing the arguments.
However, the court has not announced when it will issue a final decision.
It has also confirmed that a ruling will not be delivered on the day of the hearing.
AFCON 2027 qualifiers already underway
The legal dispute continues as both countries compete in qualification for the next Africa Cup of Nations.
Senegal drew with Mozambique on September 25 in Patrick Vieira’s first match as coach.
The team then defeated Ethiopia 1-0 on September 29.
Morocco has also begun its qualifying campaign with victories over Gabon and Lesotho.
For now, CAF’s decision awarding the AFCON 2026 title to Morocco remains the subject of Senegal’s appeal.
The final outcome will depend on the ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.