CAF president Patrice Motsepe says the Confederation of African Football has introduced fresh rules and procedures after the stormy aftermath of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final in Morocco.
The showpiece, staged on January 18, erupted into disorder when Senegal’s national team left the field in protest. The incident followed a VAR review in stoppage time that resulted in Morocco being awarded a penalty while the contest was still goalless.
Senegal were first announced as winners, but the outcome was later reversed. The match was subsequently treated as a forfeit, handing the title to the hosts, Morocco. The delayed decision drew heavy criticism, with many questioning why the ruling was not made immediately during the game.
Speaking on Wednesday to BBC Sport Africa, Motsepe acknowledged that weaknesses in officiating and match administration played a role in the controversy.
“We’ve done good work in terms of building the confidence and the trust amongst the football community of our referees and of our VAR,” Motsepe said.
“But there are still these challenges and we’ve recognized what the deficiencies were that led to the unfortunate incidents we had in Morocco.”
Motsepe said the governing body has now put new regulations in place to reduce the likelihood of similar scenes occurring in future CAF competitions.
He added that the steps introduced “will ensure that doesn’t happen again.”
The CAF president also revealed that visits to both Senegal and Morocco were part of efforts to restore confidence after the disputed final.
“We are waiting for the judgement of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and African football is continuing to grow and develop,” he said.
“Whatever decision comes, we will respect and implement.”
Motsepe further defended CAF’s choice to appoint Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala to officiate a major continental club final, despite controversy linked to his handling of the AFCON decider.
“After the final in Morocco, the chairman of the referees committee came to the executive committee, and they gave a thorough report of his performance and assessed how he refereed the match in accordance with global best refereeing practices,” Motsepe added.
