CAF Suspends Senegal Coach, Hakimi, Hands out $1.1m Fines over AFCON Final Row

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has suspended Pape Thiaw, Senegal’s head coach, for five games and fined him $100,000 for “unsporting conduct” after he ordered his players to leave the pitch during the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final against Morocco.

In a ruling announced on Thursday, CAF also fined the Senegalese federation $615,000 for the team’s conduct and the behaviour of the country’s fans at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium during the final.

The CAF disciplinary committee also sanctioned two Senegalese players — Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr — with two-game suspensions for “unsporting behaviour towards the referee”.

Morocco was also dished penalties for its part in the chaos of the dramatic AFCON final.

The Moroccan FA received a total fine of $315,000 for offences ranging from the conduct of the ball boys during the game to the country’s players and staff invading the VAR review area, obstructing the referee’s work, and the use of lasers by Moroccan supporters.

Achraf Hakimi and Ismael Saibari were handed one and two-match suspensions, respectively, for throwing the towel of Eduard Mendy, the Senegal goalkeeper, into the crowd during the downpour in which the match was played.

CAF, however, dismissed Morocco’s appeal to overturn the match result because of the Senegalese team’s lengthy walk-off.

The 2025 AFCON descended into row after the referee, after consulting VAR, gave Morocco a late penalty over a foul on Brahim Diaz.

In protest of the decision, Thiaw ordered his players and staff off the pitch and into the dugout. Tempers also flared in the stands as angry Senegal fans confronted stewards, and pockets of scuffles broke out.

The Senegalese players and coaching staff’s protest lasted almost 20 minutes before they returned to the field for the match to resume.

Senegal survived the penalty call as Brahim Diaz had his Panenka kick saved, before Pape Gueye’s screamer sealed a second AFCON title for the Teranga Lions.