Morocco, AFCON, and the controversies that trailed Africa’s biggest football event

Visiting teams and fans have raised concerns around attending tournaments in Morocco, including security concerns and allegations of hostility

Originally published on Global Voices

When Senegal clinched the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title with a 1-0 victory over hosts Morocco on January 18, 2026, the celebration was overshadowed by discussions about the tournament’s conduct and fairness.

The final, played at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, unfolded amid intense tension. A Video Assistant Referee-reviewed penalty awarded to Morocco late in the 98th minute of stoppage time triggered an immediate protest from the Senegalese players, who walked off the pitch. In the moments following the walkout, reports indicated that confrontations broke out between Senegalese supporters and stadium officials.

When the match eventually resumed, Morocco’s Brahim Díaz attempted a “Panenka” — a softly chipped shot aimed down the centre of the goal, but the effort was unsuccessful, with the ball comfortably finding its way into the hands of Senegal’s goalkeeper Édouard Mendy. The match proceeded into extra time, where Senegal midfielder Pape Gueye scored the decisive goal, securing Senegal’s victory and the AFCON title.

Tensions continued into the final’s post-match press conference. Videos circulating online showed several Moroccan journalists walking out of the room as Senegal’s head coach, Pape Bouna Thiaw, entered the venue holding the hand of his daughter:

Senegalese coach Pape Thiaw came in for his post-match conference & Moroccan journalists walked out.

We all love Morocco from outside but this tournament has exposed them. We saw Hakimi, ball boys, coach, the players, even journalists. Disgusting people.pic.twitter.com/rWVw9l557n

— TobyWrites (@tobyasky) January 19, 2026

The walkout drew criticism from other foreign journalists present at the tournament, as well as from the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), which described the incident as inconsistent with professional standards of sports journalism:

Foreign journalists criticize Moroccan media for walking out during the Senegalese coach’s media briefing.! pic.twitter.com/tYqZ3JOVYS

— The Kenyan Vigilante (@KenyanSays) January 19, 2026

African football and the politics of hosting

African football has rarely existed in isolation from the continent’s political geography. Rivalries are often shaped by history, diplomacy, and unresolved political and regional tensions, and major tournaments regularly reopen discussions about fairness and the responsibilities that come with hosting. 

In recent years, this scrutiny has increasingly centred on Morocco. The country’s frequent hosting of major African football events, including AFCON qualifiers, the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), the African Nations Championship (CHAN), and several  Confederation of African Football (CAF) club competitions, has coincided with heightened attention from players, officials, and the African football community.

The concentration of tournaments in one host nation has also drawn public comment from prominent figures in the game. Nigerian football star and six-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year, Asisat Oshoala. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), wrote:

The big question here is when will this whole @CAF_Online compensation to Morocco end. Awards , tournaments n all……it’s getting boring now. We need other countries to step up. Everything concerning African football happens in Morocco , feels like that’s the new HQ

— ASISAT O.O.N (@AsisatOshoala) January 14, 2026

Across multiple tournaments, visiting teams and fans have raised similar concerns, including allegations of crowd hostility and security concerns when fixtures are held on Moroccan soil.

One such example dates back to the CAF Champions League final between Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca, played in Morocco. In widely circulated footage following Al Ahly’s 2–0 defeat, then head coach Pitso Mosimane spoke to journalists about what he characterized as an intimidating atmosphere and officiating decisions he believed influenced the match. The clip continues to circulate online and is often referenced in broader discussions about hosting conditions at Moroccan venues.

“If they bully you, bully them back. If they kick you, kick them back!”

- Mamelodi Sundowns manager, Pitso Mosimane after watching his team bullied by Moroccan club, Wydad AC in 2019 CAF Champions League. pic.twitter.com/lbbfBgTB1I

— SportsDokitor (Odogwu) (@sportsdokitor) January 19, 2026

Sporting frustrations in the 2025 AFCON event

During the recently concluded AFCON tournament, similar issues resurfaced. Morocco was accused by opposing teams and observers of benefiting from contentious officiating decisions. According to reports, Senegalese officials filed formal complaints earlier in the week regarding crowd safety and their treatment upon arrival in Morocco. 

Other controversies, including an incident where Moroccan ball boys removed the opposing goalkeepers’ towels, were captured in several videos and shared widely on social media, and created chaos after the match that spilled beyond the field:

Just look at Hakimi, our CAF Best player. Shame on him,

I told you guys, the ball boys are instructed to take the goalkeeper’s towels. It is planned.

I knew these little boys cannot be that bold to be doing this in an international tournament.pic.twitter.com/qimA0VnxdK https://t.co/TwpgsigabJ

— TobyWrites (@tobyasky) January 18, 2026

Refereeing decisions throughout AFCON 2025 also drew criticism from teams and analysts. Several key matches featured contentious decisions and late VAR interventions, intensified frustrations among players and coaches.

In one tournament match involving Cameroon, Samuel Eto’o, president of the Cameroon Football Federation, was sanctioned by CAF with a fine and a ban for his alleged conduct toward match officials following what he viewed as unfavourable decisions.

This isn’t the first time football tensions have escalated beyond the field. In 2019, the CAF Champions League final between Esperance of Tunisia and Wydad Casablanca descended into chaos, leaving players stranded when the VAR technology, which was mandated for the final, was suddenly unavailable. CAF’s indecisiveness and reversal of its own decisions ultimately exposed its fragility.

In 2014, Global Voices published an analysis of hostile host tactics in African football using the Libya versus Nigeria AFCON qualifying match scandal, which revealed how logistics and even basic hospitality were turned into weapons.

Morocco and the question of belonging

For decades, Morocco has maintained an uneasy relationship with the rest of Africa. In 1984, it withdrew from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU), after the body recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. In 1987, Morocco applied to become a Member of the European Union but was rejected on the grounds that it was not a European State. 

When Morocco rejoined the African Union in 2017, it did so strategically, with football becoming a major part of its re-entry strategy. It has since hosted the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in 2018, the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in 2025, the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), and the 2025 AFCON tournament. 

While Morocco’s hosting of major tournaments has expanded its continental visibility and influence, often described by analysts as a form of soft-power projection, reactions during the tournament suggested a more fractured reception among sections of the African football public.

On social media, some users questioned Morocco’s relationship with the rest of the continent: 

“We are not Africans”

But you want to win Afcon pic.twitter.com/uwtncHLKEf

— SMALLIE (@the_smallie) January 18, 2026

CAF’s complicity and the cost of silence

CAF’s greatest failure is not that these incidents occur, but that they are rarely meaningfully confronted. Host nations are awarded repeated tournaments without rigorous post-event accountability. Crowd behavior is condemned in statements and forgotten in practice. Smaller federations are expected to “move on” for the sake of unity, while patterns repeat themselves with new victims.

According to an X user, @mthulisi24

 When racist abuse, intimidation, and mob behaviour are excused, it’s just a mirror of a system stuck in feudal thinking. Power without accountability, intimidation over fairness. This isn’t ‘passion,’ it’s medieval conduct wearing a modern jersey, enabled by CAF.

Another user, @MASKURAID, added:

Fantastic facilities should not excuse abominable behaviour. @CAF_Online needs to show that the welfare of participating Nations matters and not allow host countries to seek undue advantage by using underhanded methods to ‘win.’ Football should unite us. This is not how.

Senegal’s victory marked a significant achievement in the country’s football history and lifted it in FIFA’s world rankings to 12th, while Morocco also reached its highest ranking despite narrowly missing the title. The highest ranking achieved by an African team was Nigeria's fifth in April 1994. 

Even though Morocco has been praised for the organisation of the tournament due to its modern stadium facilities and its logistical capacities, the tournament’s legacy will likely be shaped as much by the controversies that trailed it.