New Morocco Coach Praises ‘Well-Deserved’ Africa Cup of Nations Decision

Morocco’s new head coach, Mohamed Ouahbi, congratulated his country on Thursday following the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and award it to Morocco.

 

Senegal had initially won the final on January 18 in Rabat 1-0, but CAF ruled that Senegalese players’ walk-off in protest over a late penalty awarded to Morocco constituted unsportsmanlike conduct. After being persuaded to return to the pitch by captain Sadio Mane, Senegal missed the penalty, and Pape Gueye scored the winner for Morocco in extra time.

 

“First of all, I would like to congratulate all Moroccans, the staff, the players, and the federation on the good news we got two days ago, which is well-deserved,” Ouahbi said while presenting his first squad list for Morocco’s upcoming friendlies against Ecuador and Paraguay.

 

The 49-year-old, who replaced Walid Regragui earlier this month, added: “This decision pleases everyone, but it’s important to focus on the present and the future. My goal is to make the team competitive for the World Cup.”

 

The Moroccan Football Federation welcomed CAF’s ruling for its “respect for the rules,” while the Senegalese Football Federation announced it would appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), describing it as “unjust.”

 

Earlier, the CAF disciplinary committee had imposed fines and other sanctions on both federations for unsportsmanlike conduct but had not questioned the original final result.

 

Morocco, who reached the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup under Regragui, will compete in Group C of this year’s tournament alongside Brazil, Scotland, and Haiti.