New red card: how Senegalese players’ tantrum against Morocco prompted FIFA to crack down

The governing body of world football has decided to come down hard by creating a new red card to punish players who leave the field as a form of protest. This radical measure stems from the contentious final of the Africa Cup of Nations held in Rabat. During that match, Senegalese players abandoned the pitch to contest a penalty awarded to Morocco in added time. This display of poor sportsmanship prompted international authorities to adapt their regulations to prevent such a scenario from happening again.

On Bladi.net : CAN 2025: Senegal risks sanctions after celebrating its title contested by Morocco

Following this incident, the African Confederation stripped the title from Senegal to declare Morocco the winner by default with a score of three goals to zero. The matter is now in the hands of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, seized by the Senegalese federation. Disregarding this ongoing legal procedure, Senegalese players nonetheless celebrated their initial victory by parading with the trophy during warm-up matches against Peru and Gambia—behavior deemed illegal by experts under Article 48 of the continental statutes.

On Bladi.net : Victory for Morocco: Why Senegal’s appeal to CAS seems like a mission impossible

The Moroccan organization hopes this cavalier behavior will weigh heavily against Senegal during deliberations in Switzerland. However, an international legal expert specializing in sports law doubts the effectiveness of this counterattack, estimating that these festivities should not fundamentally disrupt the outcome of the CAS proceedings, as the court must focus exclusively on the material facts that occurred during the final.