The Guinea Football Federation demands the revocation of Morocco's AFCON title, accusing them of a similar walkout and insisting on reclaiming their championship.
On 20 Mar 2026 GMT+7, following the drama where the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decided to revoke the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title from Senegal and award it to Morocco, the opponent in the final, after Senegalese players walked out in protest during the final in January. The protest was sparked by a penalty awarded to host Morocco in injury time, which caused a 17-minute delay.
Recently, the Guinea Football Federation called on organizers to retroactively punish Morocco by revoking their 1976 Africa Cup of Nations trophy, citing that their opponent walked out during the title-deciding match. They argue that the same penalty standards should apply to past incidents as well.
To recount, the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Ethiopia still used a points system to determine the champion. If Guinea had beaten Morocco in the final match, they would have overtaken them to win the trophy.
Guinea led 1-0 when Morocco walked off the field to protest a referee decision. They later returned to play and drew 1-1. The 1-1 draw meant Morocco finished top of the group and claimed their first-ever AFCON title.
The Guinea Federation stated, "If the current CAF rules allow for retroactive punishment of on-field incidents, the 1976 case where Morocco left the field during the match should also be reviewed."
"Return our 1976 AFCON championship to us."
Although this claim seems reasonable from a fairness perspective, sports law analysts say the situation is legally complex. They point out that the CAF regulations, including Article 84 used to sanction Senegal, were not in effect in 1976.