Deputy Director General of the National  Sports Authority, Gideon Hammond has backed CAF’s decision to crown Morocco as 2025 Africa Cup of Nations champions.

CAF announced the ruling on Tuesday, March 17, awarding Morocco a 3–0 victory two months after the tournament’s controversial finale, with Senegal deemed to have forfeited after leaving the pitch.

Speaking on Breakfast Daily on Channel One TV, Gideon Hammond emphasized that the decision was grounded in legal regulations rather than emotion.

Morocco’s Brahim Diaz and Senegal’s Idrissa Gana Gueye in heated discussion about penalty decision during the Africa Cup Of Nations Final match between Senegal and Morocco at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on January 18, 2026 in Rabat, Morocco. (Photo by Torbjorn Tande/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)

“Legally if you want to look at it, CAF may be right. But if you are attaching emotions to it, then the outcome of whatever ruling is unsatisfactory.

“Definitely you’ll get a backlash for that decision. But I think that at any point in time, what does the spirit and the letter of the law says? If this is what the law does, the spirit and the letter says that when you forfeit a match, then you forfeit the point as well.

Senegal Coach Pape Thiaw instructs his players to walk off .Photo Courtesy: Aljazeera

“I think that it settles it from there. We call that a forfeiture because they didn’t walk out fully. They still came back and continued the match.” He said

Meanwhile, the Senegalese government has called for an “independent international investigation” into “suspected corruption” at African football’s governing body.

In a statement the Senegalese government said the “unprecedented and exceptionally serious decision” was based on “a manifestly erroneous interpretation of the regulations, leading to a grossly illegal and deeply unjust decision”.