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Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe said the organization has introduced «new laws» and «new regulations» following the chaotic end to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations 2025 final in Morocco, which saw Senegal national football team initially crowned champions before later being stripped of the title in favor of the host nation.
«We've done good work in terms of building the confidence and the trust amongst the football community of our referees and of our VAR», Motsepe told BBC Sport Africa on Wednesday. «But there are still these challenges and we've recognized what the deficiencies were that led to the unfortunate incidents we had in Morocco», he admitted.
Motsepe said the new laws and regulations «will ensure that doesn't happen again».
He added that his visits to both Senegal and Morocco were part of efforts to restore confidence. «We are waiting for the judgement of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and African football is continuing to grow and develop», he said. «Whatever decision comes, we will respect and implement».
The CAF president also defended the appointment of Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala to officiate a major continental club final despite the controversy surrounding his handling of the AFCON final in Morocco.
«After the final in Morocco, the chairman of the referees committee came to the executive committee, and they gave a thorough report of his performance and assessed how he refereed the match in accordance with global best refereeing practices», Motsepe said.
The AFCON final between Morocco and Senegal on January 18 saw Senegal walk off the pitch in protest after Morocco were awarded a penalty following a VAR review in stoppage time while the score was still goalless. Months later, the result was overturned and the match declared forfeited in Morocco’s favor, after Senegal had initially been awarded the title. The delayed decision sparked controversy, with many arguing that such a ruling should have been taken immediately on the pitch during the match itself.
