The extensive investigation published by Le Monde regarding the AFCON 2025 final has just sent shockwaves through the football world. While Senegal was celebrating its victory, confidential documents from CAF officials (the referee, match commissioner, and general coordinator) reveal a much darker reality.
According to these reports, the abandonment of the pitch in the 97th minute by the “Lions of Teranga,” acting on the orders of their head coach Pape Thiaw, is a documented and undeniable fact. CAF regulations are, however, strict: any voluntary withdrawal during a match results in an automatic forfeit.
🚨💣 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐒
The president of the CAF Referees Committee reportedly gave clear instructions 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 during the 2025 AFCON final — according to Moroccan sources.
Shocking allegations surrounding the… pic.twitter.com/QXdyOqVwuU
— Topskills Sports UK (@topskillsportuk) April 5, 2026
The investigation even suggests that the referee may have received “instructions” not to send off two Senegalese players during the restart, in an attempt to save the final’s media image. If the rule of law ultimately prevails at the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport), the title could definitively change hands, penalizing an attitude that, according to many observers, flouted sporting ethics that evening.
