Senegal-Morocco: the latest ruling that could reignite the can 2025 final dispute

Nearly three months after the initial event, the controversy surrounding the CAN 2025 final continues to spark debate. On January 18th in Rabat, Senegal initially secured a 1-0 victory against Morocco following extra time. However, a significant turn of events occurred on March 17th when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) ultimately reversed this outcome, awarding Morocco a 3-0 win by forfeit.

The CAF appeal jury based its decision on articles 82 and 84 of the regulations, which state that a team leaving the field or refusing to resume play is automatically declared the loser. This interpretation has been strongly challenged by the Senegalese Football Federation, which has since escalated the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) in an effort to nullify the verdict.

While awaiting the TAS ruling, Edouard Mendy has broken his silence to advocate for the position of the Lions of Teranga. During an appearance on the Saudi podcast Mo Show Prod, the Al-Hilal goalkeeper provided his account of the events, directly contradicting Moroccan claims of a collective abandonment.

Mendy, who was a hero in the final for saving Brahim Diaz’s penalty, emphasized a crucial detail. “People were saying we all left the pitch during the final, but that’s false. There were still players on the field. It’s very important to mention this,” he asserted.

Edouard Mendy defends Senegal’s stance

Furthermore, Mendy referenced the report from referee Jean-Jacques Ndala to support his argument: “And that’s why the referee didn’t blow the final whistle. He noted in his report that the match paused momentarily, but not that the team abandoned it, because players remained on the field.”

According to the former Chelsea goalkeeper, the game did indeed resume, which would invalidate any notion of a forfeit: “The match stopped for a moment and then restarted, so from that point, it’s unnecessary to discuss what happened because the match continued until the end. If the entire team had been absent, we wouldn’t be talking about this today. But that was not the case.”

However, this version does not entirely resolve all ambiguities. According to Afrik Foot, the official report, corroborated by video footage, suggests that almost the entire team, with the exception of Sadio Mané, had indeed left the pitch for several minutes, including Edouard Mendy himself, who was reportedly among the first to head to the changing rooms. The battle of narratives continues as all parties await the definitive verdict from the TAS.