Sam Ogunleye spoke with Morocco and Senegal fans after the 2025 AFCON final. (2:12) Open Extended Reactions Morocco was stunningly awarded the Africa Cup of Nations title Tuesday by appeals judges who overturned Senegal's victory in a chaotic final in January. The Confederation of African Football said its appeal board ruled Senegal was "declared to have forfeited the Final" and its 1-0 win in extra time becomes a 3-0 default win for host nation Morocco. - Senegal coach defends AFCON final walkoff - FIFA chief Infantino: AFCON chaos unacceptable In the Jan. 18 final in Rabat, Senegal players led by coach Pape Thiaw left the field in protest during stoppage time for 15 minutes -- and fans tried to storm the field -- when Morocco was awarded a penalty that was set to decide the match. When play resumed, Morocco forward Brahim Díaz's spot kick -- a controversial slow chip shot known as a "Panenka" -- was saved by goalkeeper Édouard Mendy and Senegal scored the only goal in extra time. Senegal players were angry for being called for a late penalty after a VAR check during the Africa Cup Of Nations final against Morocco on Jan. 18. Torbjorn Tande/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images Tension in the stadium was already raised by Senegal being denied a goal minutes before the penalty was given to Morocco. In the second minute of stoppage time, Senegal's apparent go-ahead goal was ruled out for a foul by Abdoulaye Seck, but TV replays showed little contact on Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi. At an initial disciplinary hearing, CAF imposed fines of than $1 million and bans for Senegal and Morocco players and officials but left the result unchanged. The case could go to a further appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport based in Lausanne, Switzerland. CAF cited article 82 of tournament regulations for its marquee event to justify the verdict enforced on appeal, though not at the first hearing. It states "if, for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report for a match, or refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorization of the referee, it shall be considered loser and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition."