CAF Disciplinary Board v. Fédération Sénégalaise de Football & Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football

Following the disorder that marred the AFCON 2025 final — including a Senegalese walk-off protest against a VAR-awarded penalty — CAF's Disciplinary Board issued first-instance sanctions against both federations and several individuals for breaches of the CAF Disciplinary Code.

Senegal head coach Pape Bouna Thiaw received a five-match suspension and a USD 100,000 fine for unsporting conduct and bringing the game into disrepute. Players Iliman Cheikh Baroy Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr each received two-match bans for unsporting behaviour toward match officials. The Fédération Sénégalaise de Football was fined across three separate heads: USD 300,000 for the conduct of its supporters, a further USD 300,000 for the unsporting conduct of its players and technical staff, and USD 15,000 after five Senegal players were booked during the match — a combined USD 615,000.

On the Moroccan side, captain Achraf Hakimi received a two-match suspension, one of which was itself suspended for a year, and Ismael Saibari a three-match suspension together with a USD 100,000 personal fine. Beyond those individual sanctions, the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football was itself fined USD 200,000 for the inappropriate behaviour of the stadium's ball boys during the match, and a further USD 100,000 for the conduct of its own players and technical staff — a combined USD 300,000 at the federation level, separate from Saibari's personal fine. The Board separately rejected FRMF's protest seeking forfeiture of the match on the merits at this first-instance stage.

This first-instance decision was the one FRMF successfully appealed to the CAF Appeal Board, which went on to order the forfeiture — making this Disciplinary Board ruling the direct procedural predecessor to the CAS appeal now pending.