Morocco were named the Fair Play Team of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after one of the most bad-tempered finals in the tournament's history.
The hosts were beaten 1-0 in the final with Pape Gueye's extra time goal securing Senegal's second title but the match was overshadowed by the eventual victors temporarily refusing to play after Morocco were awarded a penalty in second-half stoppage-time.
Referee Jean Jacques Ndala awarded the spot-kick in the 98th minute after the video assistant referee advised him to review a challenge on Real Madrid attacker Brahim Díaz.
The decision came minutes after Ndala had controversially disallowed a Senegal goal, with the subsequent VAR intervention prompting Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw to usher his team off the pitch.
After a 17-minute delay marred by trouble in the stands Diaz's inexplicably chipped a 'panenka' penalty straight down the middle of the goal which former Chelsea goalkeeper Édouard Mendy stood and caught.
The flashpoint came after a series of allegations from multiple nations accusing Morocco of gamesmanship throughout the tournament.
Article 8 of CAF's Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations says that "a Fair-Play trophy shall be awarded to the team that will have shown the best fair-play spirit during the final phase of the Africa Cup of Nations, in conformity with the CAF Fair-play regulations."
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Analysis from ESPN's Ed Dove in Rabat
It's important that Thiaw's decision to usher his players from the pitch isn't just seen in the context of simply Senegal's disallowed goal and the penalty awarded to Morocco; it was a response to the perception that's build up throughout the tournament that Morocco are not above stacking the deck in their favour in an attempt to win the AFCON.
Hugo Broos's complained about South Africa's training facilities, Tom Saintfiet's objected to the refereeing decisions not being equal as Mali held the hosts in the group stage, Nigeria forward Akor Adams' insisted that journalists interview the referee after Nigeria's semifinal elimination by the Atlas Lions and the ball boys' constantly removed Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali's towel during Wednesday's game. These incidents built a narrative that has developed and taken root during the tournament, with shades of Argentina's manipulation of the 1978 World Cup not too far from mind.
Senegal have experienced this as well, but they came prepared.
On Friday evening, the Federation released a press release deploring four aspects of the treatment they've received in the build-up to the final -- accommodation, logistics, training facilities and ticketing -- putting pressure on CAF to affirm the organisers' impartiality.
They were prepared for the towel-stealing antics as well during the final, with Mendy's goalkeeping deputy at one point having to physically wrest the stopper's towel away from no fewer than four Moroccan pitch-side adolescents, supposedly there to assist in the fair running of proceedings, not interfere to disrupt one of the finalists.
Even Hakimi contributed to this towel-stealing fiasco at one point in the contest, such was Moroccan desperation to give themselves every advantage they could, beyond their considerable technical and tactical qualities.
This is not to excuse Thiaw's actions, but merely to provide context and explain the extent to which his actions were not an isolated response to those two refereeing decisions, but a broader protest -- supposedly -- against Morocco's overall attempts to stack the deck in their favour.