Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published on Saturday, 28 March 2026 20:32 / Updated on Saturday, 28 March 2026 21:08
The Senegal national team presented the Africa Cup of Nations trophy before the friendly with Peru, won 2-0 at the Stade de France. The distinction was withdrawn by the Confederation of African Football.
The gesture was clearly one of protest, after the African forum decided to award victory to Morocco at the “green table”, following the incidents in the final.
PHOTO. Show at the Stade de France: Koulibaly and Mendy presented the trophy
In front of around 70,000 spectators, Senegal treated the moment as a true title celebration. In those moments, fans chanted: “CAF is corrupt! CAF is corrupt! We won on the field, not in the office, with a blank slate!”
Captain Kalidou Koulibaly and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy took to the official stand with the trophy, while the atmosphere was maintained by the famous artist Youssou N'Dour.
The message was as clear as possible: Senegal still consider themselves the champions of Africa.
Senegal does not recognize CAF's decision
Although Senegal had won the final on the field, score 1-0, CAF returned the result to 3-0 for Morocco, reasoning that the Senegalese left the field in extra time after the award of a penalty.
The decision, which came nearly three months after the final, sparked total outrage in Dakar. The Senegalese federation has already appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and refuses to accept the verdict.
Victory in the first official match after the decision: Senegal – Peru 2-0
In addition to the symbolic moment, Senegal also won the first match after the huge scandal. The team played its first friendly after the CAF decision against Peru and won 2-0.
In the 41st minute, Nicolas Jackson, the striker of German champions Bayern Munich, opened the scoring and set the scoreboard of the first half. After the break, in the 54th minute, Crystal Palace Premier League player Ismaïla Sarr doubled the lead and made the final score 2-0 in favor of Senegal.
