Zambia’s 2012 Africa Cup of Nations winner, Noah Chivuta, has weighed in on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeal Board’s decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 AFCON title and award it to hosts Morocco.

In a historic ruling, CAF stated that Senegal had forfeited the final of the TotalEnergies AFCON Morocco 2025, with the match officially recorded as a 3-0 victory in favor of Morocco, in line with Article 84 of the competition’s regulations, which states that any team that violates Article 82 will be permanently eliminated and will lose the match 3-0.

According to Article 82, if a team refuses to play or leaves the ground before the end of regulation time without the referee’s authorisation, it will be considered the loser and eliminated from the competition.

In an interview with BolaNews, Chivuta described the ruling as both understandable under the rules and damaging to the image of African football.

“I didn’t see it coming. I thought it ended on the pitch, but if you look at what transpired in that final, you can arrive at a decision like that,” Chivuta said.

The former Chipolopolo midfielder pointed to Senegal’s walk-off during the match as a critical factor in CAF’s ruling. He, however, noted that the forfeiture should have been handled during the match.

“In football rules, once a team walks out, they forfeit the game. From that point, the referee was supposed to end the match,” he explained. “To make such a decision after letting the game continue and only conclude later in the boardroom is very bad, and it doesn’t look good on African football.”

Bad for African football image – Chivuta

Chivuta said the disciplinary ruling may be justified legally, but it raises concerns about governance and consistency in officiating at major tournaments.

“Morally, it won’t look good on our football. It gives a bad picture of how the game is managed on the continent,” Chivuta noted.

He further suggested that CAF may have opted for the ruling to avoid heavier sanctions, such as a potential ban for Senegal. “There is a lot involved in this decision, but it’s just sad that it was not decided on the field. In other instances, Senegal can be banned for putting football into disrepute,” he said.

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