Nearly three months after the initial event, the CAN 2025 final continues to be a focal point of contention. On January 18th in Rabat, Sénégal initially secured a 1-0 victory on the pitch following extra time. However, on March 17th, the Confédération africaine de football ultimately reversed this outcome, awarding Maroc a 3-0 win by default.
This decision by the appeal jury was justified by articles 82 and 84 of the regulations, which state that a team leaving the field or refusing to resume play is automatically declared to have forfeited. This interpretation is strongly disputed by the Fédération sénégalaise, which has escalated the matter to the Tribunal arbitral du sport (TAS) in an effort to overturn the verdict.
While awaiting the TAS’s ruling, Edouard Mendy has broken his silence to advocate for the position of the Lions de la Teranga. During an appearance on the Saudi podcast Mo Show Prod, the Al-Hilal goalkeeper presented his account of the events, which contradicts Moroccan accusations of a collective abandonment.
The Senegalese shot-stopper, who was a hero in the final for saving Brahim Diaz’s penalty, emphasized a crucial detail. “People were claiming that we all left the field during the final, but that’s inaccurate. There were still players on the pitch. It’s very important to highlight this,” he asserted.
Edouard Mendy champions Sénégal’s stance
Mendy further substantiated his claims by referencing the referee Jean-Jacques Ndala’s report: “And that’s precisely why the referee didn’t blow the final whistle. He noted in his report that the match was temporarily halted, but not that the team had abandoned it, because players remained on the field.”
According to the former Chelsea goalkeeper, the game did indeed resume, which would negate any notion of a forfeiture: “The match paused momentarily and then restarted, so from that point onwards, there’s no need to discuss what happened as the game continued to its conclusion. If the entire team had been absent, we wouldn’t be debating this today. But that wasn’t the situation.”
Nevertheless, this perspective does not fully clarify all ambiguities. As reported by Afrik Foot, the official report, corroborated by video evidence, suggests that almost the entire team, with the exception of Sadio Mané, had indeed left the pitch for several minutes. This reportedly included Edouard Mendy himself, who was observed among the first to head to the changing rooms. The clash of narratives persists as the football world awaits the definitive verdict from the TAS.
