By Kunle Solaja.

The Confédération of African Football (CAF) has imposed a raft of disciplinary sanctions on the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football (FSF), the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF), as well as several players and officials, following incidents that marred the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 final.

In a statement issued after deliberations by its Disciplinary Board, CAF said the sanctions were imposed for violations of the CAF Disciplinary Code, particularly breaches of the principles of fair play, integrity and conduct that brought the game into disrepute.

Senegal Hit with Heavy Suspensions and Fines

Senegal bore the brunt of the sanctions, with national team head coach Pape Bouna Thiaw handed a five-match suspension from official CAF competitions for unsporting conduct. CAF ruled that his actions violated the principles of fair play and integrity and brought the game into disrepute. He was also fined USD 100,000.

Two Senegalese players were also sanctioned for their conduct towards match officials. Iliman Cheikh Baroy NdiayeandIsmaila Sarrwere each suspended for two official CAF matches for unsporting behaviour towards the referee.

At the federation level, the FSF was fined a total of USD 615,000. CAF imposed a USD 300,000 fine for the improper conduct of Senegalese supporters, which brought the game into disrepute, and another USD 300,000 fine for the unsporting conduct of the team’s players and technical staff. An additional USD 15,000 fine was levied after five Senegalese players received cautions during the match.

Moroccan Players, FA Also Sanctioned

Morocco was not spared, as CAF also imposed disciplinary measures on players and the Moroccan football federation.

Star defender Achraf Hakimi was suspended for two official CAF matches, with one match suspended for a probationary period of one year, for unsporting behaviour. Midfielder Ismaël Saibari received a three-match suspension and was fined USD 100,000 for similar offences.

The Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF) was fined USD 200,000 for the inappropriate behaviour of stadium ball boys during the final. CAF also imposed a USD 100,000 fine on the FRMF for the improper conduct of Morocco’s players and technical staff, who invaded the VAR review area and obstructed the referee’s work, in violation of Articles 82 and 83 of the CAF Disciplinary Code.

In addition, the Moroccan federation was fined USD 15,000 for the use of lasers by its supporters during the match.

CAF Rejects Morocco’s Protest

CAF also addressed the protest lodged by the FRMF against the FSF, which alleged violations of Articles 82 and 84 of the Africa Cup of Nations Regulations during the final.

After reviewing the complaint, the CAF Disciplinary Board rejected the protest in its entirety, ruling that the claims did not warrant disciplinary action under the cited regulations.

The CAF decisions bring formal closure to the disciplinary proceedings arising from the controversial AFCON 2025 final, which had been overshadowed by on-field confrontations, crowd misconduct and disputes surrounding officiating decisions.

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Calvin Bassey’s father, Kingsley Ughelumba, has once again appealed for help to reunite with his four children, including the Super Eagles defender, saying he has been separated from them for more than 18 years, PUNCH Sports Extra, a leading Nigerian publication, has reported.

Ughelumba reopened the long-running appeal in an emotional account, attributing the prolonged estrangement to a breakdown in his relationship with the children’s mother, Ebere Bassey. He had first spoken publicly about the issue two years ago and has now returned with another plea, saying he has been “dying in silence” while still hoping for reconciliation.

The Ihiala Local Government Area indigene in Anambra State said his first three sons, Elvis, Mathew and Calvin, were born in Italy, while his youngest son, Michael, was born in Ireland. According to him, the family later lived briefly in London before marital issues led to their separation.

“We had husband-and-wife arguments. I went to work, and before I returned, she had left with the children,” Ughelumba said in a viral social media interview.

He added that contact was only re-established in 2017 when the children needed Nigerian passports. “She reached out then, I sent all my documents and bought all their flight tickets. When they stayed with me, I never told them their mum did anything to me. She has muted me since he signed for a football club,” he claimed.

Bassey, who came through Leicester City’s youth system, rose to prominence after joining Rangers on a free transfer in July 2020. He made 65 appearances for the Scottish side over two seasons, winning the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup.

In July 2022, he moved to Ajax for €23m, then the highest transfer fee in Rangers’ history, before signing for Fulham a year later in a €22m deal. The 26-year-old made his Nigeria debut in March 2022 during the World Cup play-off against Ghana and has since earned 43 caps, featuring prominently at the last two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Earlier in his career, Bassey was listed under his father’s surname, Ughelumba, but later adopted his mother’s surname and has frequently credited her for her support.

“He’s just not in my life—we lived with him, but that was when I was really young,” Bassey once said. “Since I was six, it has been mum and us boys. I wanted my mum’s name on the back of my shirt as my way of saying thank you.”

Ughelumba also recounted several unsuccessful attempts to reconnect with his children since 2020. He said he travelled from London to Leicester during the COVID-19 period to see Calvin, then at Leicester City, but was unable to gain access.

“When I got to Leicester City, the club welcomed me and called Calvin. There was a name I used to call him when he was small—‘Biggy’. When they called him that, he responded immediately,” he said.

According to him, the meeting eventually ended abruptly after Calvin contacted his mother. “He got upset, told me to say whatever I wanted to say and leave. He said he didn’t want to see me again and drove off.”

Ughelumba further revealed that he travelled from Italy to Abidjan during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in another attempt to see his son.

“During Nigeria vs Angola, a journalist helped link me with the football federation. They gave me tickets, and I watched the match. After that, I went to Abuja to try again, but I still didn’t see him,” he said.

“Since then, I have been dying in silence. I don’t have any problems with my children—it’s just their mum that made me feel bad. Even if I am a devil, I can’t be a devil where my children are.”

As of the time of filing this report, the Fulham defender had yet to respond to his father’s claims.

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The incidents that occurred during the African Cup of Nations final between Morocco and Senegal were “deplorable” and “painful”, Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said on Monday.

His comments came ahead of possible sanctions by the Confederation of African Football against his national team after Senegal’s players walked off the pitch in protest at a VAR-awarded penalty before returning to beat hosts Morocco 1‑0 after extra time.

A group of Senegalese fans clashed with Moroccan security as they tried to enter the pitch in protest following the penalty decision.

Eighteen Senegalese supporters have been arrested and will stand trial in Morocco over the incidents.

Social media users from the two countries have traded accusations since the final.

Speaking at the opening of a Moroccan‑Senegalese joint commission in Rabat, one week after the final, Sonko said his visit comes in a context “charged with sporting emotion, deplorable misconduct and images that have at times been painful for two peoples deeply bound to one another.”

“The misbehaviour observed here, and there should neither be denied nor dramatised,” he said.

The incidents “should be understood as emotional excesses fuelled by passion, rather than as political or cultural rifts,” he said.

The remarks marked the first time a senior Senegalese official has acknowledged the African Cup final incidents in those terms, ahead of possible disciplinary measures by CAF.

The Moroccan football federation said it was pursuing legal action with CAF and FIFA following the final incidents.

CAF said it would take “appropriate action” after reviewing the match incidents, while FIFA President Gianni Infantino condemned the behaviour of Senegal’s players and members of the coaching staff.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye congratulated the Senegalese team in Dakar and thanked Morocco for its organisation of the tournament.

Senegal is among Morocco’s closest allies on the continent. Dakar backs Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, where it operates a consulate.

Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch said at the same event that centuries‑old ties with Senegal were strong, but he did not congratulate Senegal on its African Cup win.

Morocco’s king had said the tournament was a success for Africa and that the “regrettable incidents” that marred the final would not undermine African fraternity.

-Reuters

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