The Cup Takes a Tour: Senegal Stirs Morocco Controversy in AFCON Drama
29 March 2026
The Cold War continues in football's most controversial saga.
The Senegal national team continued to taunt its Moroccan counterpart over the controversy surrounding the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations champion, after the extraordinary decision by CAF to award Morocco a 3-0 victory in the final, despite losing 1-0 on the field.
The players lifted the trophy, sending a defiant message that CAF's ruling declaring Morocco the winner in the match contradicted FIFA rules, especially since the case remained unresolved as the Senegal Football Federation appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
During the celebration, Senegal Football Federation officials showed a video on the stadium's main screen showing the Cup in the Teranga Lions' usual black kit colors, signaling that the Cup was theirs.
The Cup seemed to tour Senegal, with citizens watching proudly as fans filled the stands.
The Cup Tours Senegal
In another shot, Senegal's officials placed a towel beside the Cup on the podium in the main enclosure, signaling the famous incident from two months ago.
Later, videos spread showing Moroccan players trying to remove the towel belonging to Mane, while Senegalese players insisted it stay with their goalkeeper, turning the moment into worldwide ridicule.
One Moroccan player confronted a teammate to stop the towel near the goal, and eventually the keeper ended up with it, while a Moroccan apologized later.
The Towel Moment
CAF fined the Moroccan Football Federation $200,000 for unsporting conduct of ball boys at the match.
But the appeal commission later partially accepted the Moroccan Federation's appeal, holding the Moroccan federation responsible for the ball boys, while reducing the fine to $50,000.
Poll: Can Mohamed Salah bring the Africa Cup of Nations trophy to Egypt?
Punchline 1: If football drama were a sniper's target, this saga would be a perfect headshot—headline after headline.
Punchline 2: The Cup has more frequent flyer miles than most players have goals; apparently it travels better than most of us.
