Mustapha Hadji says Morocco are entitled to be recognised as winners of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations under Confederation of African Football (CAF) regulations, despite Senegal’s 1-0 victory in the final.
The Morocco great also criticised Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala for allowing the match to continue after Senegal’s players left the pitch in protest at a late penalty decision.
“Football is governed by laws, and the law says that if players leave the field there must be a punishment,” Hadji said in a filmed interview with Kooora, which will be published later. “In general, I hope this crisis does not happen again for the future of African football.”
Asked whether he expected a ruling in Morocco’s favour, Hadji replied: “God willing. Morocco did not make any mistake, while Senegal’s players left the field. Therefore, the law says Morocco have the right to regain the Africa Cup of Nations title.”
Senegal have argued that CAF should cancel its decision and restore the trophy to them because Ndala completed the match. Their position is that the result on the pitch should stand.
Hadji, however, placed the responsibility for the dispute on the referee.
“I believe the referee made a major mistake by deciding to continue the match after Senegal’s players had left,” he said. “What is strange is that the video assistant referee and CAF officials allowed the referee to make the decision alone without intervening.”
The former Morocco international added: “The Senegalese know the law, and they know very well what happened. It is true they won the match on the pitch, but they understand that the referee made his decision to ensure the game continued and to avoid bigger problems.”
He continued: “But CAF and Fifa regulations state that if players leave the field for more than 10 or 15 minutes, there must be a punishment.”
Hadji warns against further appeal
Hadji, who was named African Footballer of the Year in 1998, said he hoped any final ruling would be applied consistently, regardless of which country benefited.
“I hope the final judgment applies to everyone, whoever it favours, but God willing the decision will be in Morocco’s favour,” he said.
“We are talking about football law. We did not steal the trophy without justification; we won it according to the law and in line with what happened on the pitch.”
He also warned that any attempt to take the case further after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision could damage African football.
“I believe it will be difficult to go further in this case, especially as that would harm the future of the game in Africa. I want the world to know that there is a law governing African football,” Hadji said.
Senegal defeated hosts Morocco 1-0 in the final in Rabat on 18 January. CAF later accepted an appeal by the Moroccan Football Federation to award the title to Morocco, citing the Senegal players’ withdrawal after Ndala awarded a penalty to the hosts in the closing minutes of normal time.
The Senegalese Football Federation subsequently appealed against CAF’s historic and unprecedented ruling at CAS in Switzerland. A hearing attended by representatives of Morocco, Senegal and CAF was held in October, with the final decision due by the end of November.
The listed Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures are Senegal v Sudan on 12 November 2026 and Morocco v Niger on 13 November 2026.
