Kalidou Koulibaly Discloses How He Knew CAF Stripped Senegal of AFCON 2025 Title
- Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly has explained how he knew CAF had stripped his team of the AFCON 2025 title
- Koulibaly captained the Teranga Lions to the title even though he missed the final due to injury and suspension
- The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) has submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports
Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly has opened up on how he knew CAF had stripped the Teranga Lions of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title.
The AFCON 2025 final was marred by controversy after Senegal players walked off the pitch on the order of head coach Pape Thiaw to protest a referee’s decision.
Source: Getty Images
Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala awarded Morocco a penalty in the final seconds of the 90 minutes, after disallowing Senegal's goal earlier.
Sadio Mane told his teammates to return to the pitch, restoring order and saving the image of African football to ensure the final continued.
Brahim Diaz missed the penalty, attempting a ridiculous Panenka attempt, which Senegalese goalkeeper Édouard Mendy easily saved, to take the match to extra time.
Pape Gueye scored the winner, and Senegal won the title, but the aftermath of it continues to rage and has brought a lot of controversy to African football.
CAF sent all parties involved to the Disciplinary Board for a hearing, after which sanctions, including fines and suspensions, were meted out to the federations, Thiaw and players.
Senegal accepted the sanctions, but FRMF appealed the decision, prompting CAF to reopen the investigation, and the Appeal Board ruled in favour of Morocco.
The Appeal Board stripped Senegal of the title and awarded Morocco a 3-0 walkover victory, but rejected the plea to rescind the medal, trophy and prize money.
Koulibaly speaks on AFCON saga
Kalidou Koulibaly has reacted to the ongoing saga with the AFCON 2025 title after the CAF Appeal Board stripped Senegal of the title.
Koulibaly confirmed that his Al-Hilal teammate Yassine Bounou informed him of the decision even before CAF made it official on their channels.
“Bono was the first to tell me about the decision; he’d received a call from someone, then he joked to me, ‘We’re the champions now, not you,’ and then I saw the CAF decision,” he said in a press conference as quoted by Goal.
“I didn’t believe it at first and felt shocked, but I told myself I had to focus on the team, because we were due to play a match the following day.
Source: Getty Images
“This didn’t affect my relationship with Yassine Bounou, because I have a great relationship with him, and I carried on with my life after that shocking news.”
The case is not over as FSF has lodged an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sports, which is expected to take months before passing a verdict.
Bounou reacts to CAF ruling
Legit.ng previously reported that Yassine Bounou reacted after CAF stripped Senegal of the AFCON title and awarded it to Morocco.
Bounou refused to be drawn into the controversy and said that his position is that taken by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.
Source: Legit.ng
