Idrissa Gueye has described the Confederation of Africa Football’s decision to strip Senegal of the AFCON 2025 gold medal and award it to Morocco as ‘ridiculous’.
Recall that the final of the 2025 African Cup of Nations tournament was marred by controversy after Senegal’s walk-off towards the end of regular time.
The Lions of Teranga had a goal ruled out earlier, before a controversial penalty kick was awarded to Morocco with just a few minutes left until full time.
Head coach Pape Thiaw signalled to his players to leave the pitch and after a 16-minute delay, the game continued.
Brahim Diaz missed the resulting spot-kick after a failed panenka, before Pape Gueye scored in extra-time to seal the win for Senegal.
However, after a recent ruling, they were found to have breached article 82 and 84 of the AFCON constitution, with the result of the final overturned and awarded to Morocco.
“I think this decision is just ridiculous. We won the game on the pitch, not in the offices, and as a Senegalese player, I’m just proud of what we did,” Idrissa Gueye said.
“We deserve this trophy. We fought on the pitch, and everyone knows what happened. I think if we played this game 10 times, we would win it 10 times.
“Not because we are better than Morocco, but because it was our destiny – we gave everything on the pitch, and we deserve to be champions. We really don’t care about medals, about trophies, because the most important thing is on the pitch, not what you write on paper. On the pitch, we won it, and no one can change this”, Gueye continued.
“Africa doesn’t need this type of decision because everyone has started to talk about AFCON and compare it against Europe and the Copa America. I think Africa doesn’t deserve this.”
The decision has been widely criticized by several past winners of the competition, although Senegal are expected to appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Olakitan is a young writer with a strong passion for sports, having gained experience with IndyPress and Nimelssa Press. His enthusiasm for sports inspired him to cover events both within his school and beyond. With a deep understanding of the game and a refined skillset, he brings sports coverage to a broad, global audience in a way that’s engaging and accessible.
