Patrick Vieira has entered the dispute surrounding the Africa Cup of Nations final with a simple view: Senegal won the match on the pitch. The newly appointed Senegal coach spoke as the country prepares to challenge the administrative decision that stripped the Lions of Teranga of their 2025 title.
The move
Morocco and Senegal are due to present their cases on Thursday before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, during a closed-door hearing conducted in French.
The case concerns the AFCON final played in Rabat on 18 January. Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 after extra time, but the Confederation of African Football’s appeals body overturned that result in March.
CAF ruled that Senegal had forfeited the final after several of its players temporarily left the field during stoppage time at the end of normal time. Applying Articles 82 and 84 of the competition regulations, the body removed the title from Senegal and registered the game as a 3-0 win for the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.
The Senegalese Football Federation appealed to CAS. A panel of three arbitrators will hear both federations, with a ruling not expected for several weeks.
The French season around it
Vieira, now in charge of Senegal, said on Saturday that he had been surprised by how long the process had taken. But the former France international made clear that his sporting judgement has not changed.
“Whatever the eventual decision, I believe Senegal won that final on the field,” Vieira said. “Everyone can form their own opinion away from the pitch, but Senegal won it there.”
His words place the new coach alongside Senegal’s federation as the case moves from CAF’s disciplinary process to Lausanne, where the legal status of one of 2026’s most contentious football finals will be examined again.
