CAF ambassador and former England international Eni Aluko has become the latest person to question the Confederation of African Football's controversial decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and award it to Morocco, Soccernet.ng reports.
The ruling, announced months after Senegal defeated Morocco 1-0 in Rabat, remains one of the most divisive moments in the history of African football.
CAF's Appeal Board overturned the result after determining that Senegal breached tournament regulations when their players briefly walked off the pitch in protest over a disputed penalty decision in the 95th minute when El Hadji Malick Diouf brought Brahim Diaz down from an inswinging corner kick.
Senegal's captain, Sadio Mane, remained. The former Liverpool winger would eventually call his teammates back onto the pitch for the penalty to be taken, which Brahim Diaz missed.
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Eni Aluko questions CAF's decision to overturn AFCON final result
Speaking in an interview with Afropolitan, Aluko admitted she was left stunned by the chaotic events that unfolded during the final. Watch Eni Aluko's comment here.
“Well, I was at that game, live, and I couldn't believe what I was watching and I thought, ‘This should be a Netflix show' because it was just so dramatic.”
The former Chelsea Women forward suggested that the entire controversy stemmed from a broader distrust of officiating within African football.
“Ultimately, it all stemmed from the fact that the Senegalese coach didn't trust the refereeing system and there's this kind of narrative across Africa that when there's a bad decision your way, it's corruption.
“Which is just ridiculous because bad decisions happen all the time and in the UK you don't claim it's corruption.”
The AFCON final descended into chaos after the penalty incident, but Senegal went on to win the game in extra time courtesy of Pape Gueye's strike.
However, CAF later ruled that Senegal's temporary walk-off amounted to a forfeiture under Articles 82 and 84 of tournament regulations, awarding Morocco a 3-0 victory.
Aluko believes the sequence of events raises significant questions.
“That then started a knock-on effect that the players went off the pitch, before they came back. Morocco then wanted to play on. Arrogant enough in my view to do a stupid penalty [Brahim Diaz attempted a panenka] that didn't work.
“Senegal then score, and they go on to win the tournament.
“In my point of view, I'm not sure how it works legally. If you come back on the pitch after a team walked off, you can't come back and claim they walked off. You either stopped it in the moment and enacted the rule.”
The 39-year-old added that the decision has created unnecessary confusion and damaged the image of African football at a time when the continent's game is making commercial progress.
“For me it's confusing because they played on, but generally for AFCON, I think it was bad PR, it was really damaging.
“African football is growing commercially, but things like that set it back because it gives the naysayers things to talk about. I was devastated by that.”
Aluko's comments echo sentiments previously expressed by former Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong and ex-Nigeria striker Odion Ighalo.
Troost-Ekong described the decision as “sad” and admitted he would feel “ashamed” to win a title in such circumstances, while Ighalo opined that CAF's ruling had given critics fresh ammunition to belittle African football.
Former Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker also labelled the decision “an embarrassment,” insisting it reinforced long-standing stereotypes surrounding African football administration.
Senegal's football federation has already appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), where they hope to overturn CAF's decision and reclaim the title they won on the pitch.
Until a final ruling is made, Morocco remain the official AFCON 2025 champions, but the controversy surrounding the final cast a shadow over one of Africa's most successful football tournaments across several tiers.
