𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

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Hello! We thought Senegal were Africa Cup of Nations champions. We thought wrong.

Coming up:

Victory voided: Morocco declared AFCON winners 57 days after Senegal lift trophy

(Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images)

I can’t have been alone in reading the tweet from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) last night and immediately checking to see if it was fake. What it said was almost impossible to digest: Senegal have been stripped of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title. Morocco are champions instead.

The statement was the culmination of a two-month investigation into the shambolic events that ruined the closing stages of the final in January. The plot was lost when hosts Morocco won a soft penalty at the end of a goalless period of normal time. Senegal’s players stormed off the pitch in protest at the decision. The final was delayed for 15 minutes as trouble broke out in the stands. Order was restored, but not without reputational damage to individuals and the tournament itself.

Morocco’s Brahim Diaz missed the penalty (I can only ever watch his feeble effort through my fingers) and Senegal forced a decisive goal in extra time. But fury was rife in all quarters afterwards — Senegal coach Pape Thiaw had to abandon a press conference after rival journalists began fighting each other — and CAF, Africa’s governing body, had no choice but to investigate, pressed hard by complaints from Morocco.

It quickly imposed fines of more than $1million — but yesterday’s move to declare Senegal’s 1-0 victory void 57 days after the fact is an extraordinary escalation, without any obvious precedent at a high level of international football. History will now record a 3-0 win for Morocco, unless Senegal successfully appeal. They announced this morning that they intend to challenge the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Morocco’s first title since 1976

Say this for CAF: it didn’t take the convenient option by sweeping the AFCON shambles under the carpet, which other governing bodies might have done, but Senegal aren’t taking its judgement lying down. No nation would surrender a major international trophy without exhausting every available avenue first.

The Athletic’s reporters have compiled as much as they know here, and something tells me TAFC will be back with further updates tomorrow, because the story is going to run. The timing of the statement is a little spooky because only last week I was chatting to my colleague, Si Hughes, about his experience of covering AFCON and the final itself.

Si’s view on the tournament was that Morocco’s absolute determination to win it as hosts made AFCON more business-like than usual, stripping a little of the fun from it. Their disappointment at falling short in the final was tangible — but what Si and I didn’t realise when we spoke was that the Moroccans were about to bag their first title since 1976. It has a massive asterisk next to it, however, the very definition of a hollow victory.

Move to Mexico? Iran want World Cup fixtures switch, but FIFA stands firm

The way in which CAF blindsided us over AFCON proves that nothing is out of the question in football. So when the subject of Iran boycotting (or failing to participate in) the World Cup comes up, we should never say never.

Deep down you’d think that as push comes to shove, Iran will take up the place they earned and deserved, but bringing this furore to a satisfactory end won’t be straightforward. The latest, which we brought you yesterday, is that Iran are asking to play their World Cup fixtures in Mexico, on the basis that their safety in the United States, to quote U.S. President Donald Trump, can’t be guaranteed.

FIFA has since said that it has no intention of relocating games, which brings us to another impasse — although Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, was less dismissive of the idea, demonstrating again how on-the-same-page the 2026 tournament is. We’ve tried to predict what happens next in this saga — and frankly, your guess is as good as ours.

News round-up

• A stonking David Martinez strike, late in the day, fired LAFC into the last eight of the Concacaf Champions Cup last night. The 20-year-old’s hit from long range, above, knocked out Costa Rica’s Alajuelense on aggregate. Mexico’s Cruz Azul await them next.
• Gio Reyna is in the last USMNT squad ahead of the World Cup, a firm indication that he has every chance of making the finals too. Henry Bushnell and Paul Tenorio analysed a roster which looks pretty close to being locked in for the summer.
• Hansi Flick says his job at Barcelona will be the last of his coaching career. Once it’s done, he plans to quit. Although he wouldn’t be the first person to say that and then think again once the reality of retirement kicks in.
• There’s some doubt around the future of Enzo Fernandez at Chelsea. The midfielder has a contract to 2032 but he wasn’t willing to commit when asked if he would stick around at Stamford Bridge next season.
• Kasper Schmeichel was part of Leicester City’s Premier League title-winning squad in 2016 and he was aiming for a last hurrah at the World Cup with Denmark, but forthcoming surgery will rule him out of it — and could end his career.

City crash: Will Guardiola leave after another season without a trophy?

Pep Guardiola arrived at the Etihad last night wearing an oversized shirt and looking like it was dress-down day. Perhaps he realised that in trying to turn around Real Madrid’s 3-0 advantage in the Champions League, Manchester City’s goose was cooked.

The bird frazzled completely once Bernardo Silva received a red card for handball, above, early in yesterday’s second leg, conceding a penalty in the process. City are out, beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Madrid, and their season — potentially Guardiola’s last, don’t forget — is hanging by a thread. They’re toiling in the Premier League. If they lose Sunday’s Carabao Cup final to Arsenal, it’s conceivable Pep will sign off with two trophyless years in a row. That wasn’t in the script.

Arsenal, meanwhile, continue to be a model club: into the Champions League quarter-finals after making their superior quality tell against Bayer Leverkusen. Eberechi Eze’s volley, below, was a beauty. The natives are restless at Chelsea, though, after a second leg against Paris Saint-Germain, that was a waste of time from the start. Two finishes inside 15 minutes and PSG were on the road to an 8-2 aggregate win. Liam Rosenior shouldn’t bother picking through the bones for positives.

Mind you, your author is required to eat a little humble pie this morning, too. After Bodo/Glimt’s excellent first-leg win over Sporting CP, Nostradamus here asked how long their Champions League party would last. Six days was the cry, as it all fell apart in Lisbon yesterday. My fault for tempting fate.

A big comeback on Sporting’s part (3-0 down at the halfway stage) was always possible because, for all that Bodo/Glimt had been punching above their weight, they were small enough to be vulnerable still. The enormity of what they were doing seemed to hit them like a shot of Absinthe, and five unanswered goals saw Sporting through in extra time. Adjo to this year’s fairytale.

Around TAFC

Catch a match

Selected games (times ET/UK)

UEFA Champions League last 16, second legs (all TNT Sports in UK): Barcelona (1) vs Newcastle United (1), 1.45pm/5.45pm — Paramount+, ViX; Bayern Munich (6) vs Atalanta (1), 4pm/8pm — CBS, Paramount+, Fubo, ViX; Liverpool (0) vs Galatasaray (1), 4pm/8pm — Paramount+, ViX; Tottenham Hotspur (2) vs Atletico Madrid (5), 4pm/8pm — Paramount+, DAZN.

Championship: Southampton vs Norwich City, 3.45pm/7.45pm — CBS, Paramount+, Amazon Prime (U.S. only).

And finally…

Today’s parting shot belongs to Vinicius Junior. He was, you’ll recall, the player for whom Manchester City’s fans hung out a banner last season, telling him to stop crying about the Ballon d’Or vote which went Rodri’s way instead of his.

The forward kept receipts — I thought he might — and after the first of his two goals against City last night, he picked his moment to troll the Etihad in kind (above). He’s settling scores at will this season.