As the 2026 FIFA World Cup fast approaches, Senegal international Iliman Ndiaye has made it clear that the ongoing legal battle over the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) title will not distract his side from their pursuit of global glory. Ndiaye insists that regardless of the final ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Teranga Lions still view themselves as the rightful kings of African football.
The controversy traces back to January’s dramatic Afcon final hosted by Morocco, where Senegal claimed a 1-0 extra-time victory over the Atlas Lions, a match marred by a 17-minute stoppage triggered by a Senegal protest over a late penalty decision. Two key flashpoints unfolded in second-half stoppage time: first, a late Senegal headed goal from Ismaila Sarr was ruled out for an alleged foul on Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi. Minutes later, referee Jean-Jacques Ndala overturned his original on-field call after a VAR review, awarding Morocco a penalty for a foul by El Hadji Malick Diouf on Brahim Diaz.
Furious over the back-to-back calls, multiple Senegal players, substitutes and coaching staff left the pitch in protest. It was tournament star Sadio Mane — who remained on the field throughout the chaos — who raced to the dressing room to convince his teammates to return and complete the match. Once play resumed, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy saved Diaz’s Panenka-style penalty, and Pape Gueye netted the winning goal in extra time to secure Senegal’s second consecutive Afcon title.
The dispute did not end on the pitch, however. On March 17, two months after the final, a Confederation of African Football (Caf) appeals board ruled that Senegal breached tournament regulations by walking off the pitch without the referee’s formal permission, and stripped the side of the title, awarding it to Morocco instead. Senegal’s football federation immediately appealed the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which has not yet issued a final judgement.
Despite the unresolved legal cloud hanging over the 2025 Afcon title, Ndiaye says Senegal will not let the saga impact their World Cup preparations. The 26-year-old Everton forward, who started the final and watched the stoppage-time chaos from the bench after being substituted, emphasized that the squad’s focus and hunger for the 2026 World Cup remains undimmed. “Obviously, in our eyes and many other people’s eyes, we are the champions of Africa,” Ndiaye told BBC World Service’s Newsday. “Whatever their decisions will be, it doesn’t disturb us. The same focus and hunger and determination that we had going into the Afcon, we’re going to do the same going into the World Cup. It’s another trophy on the line and nothing’s going to distract us.”
Ndiaye also acknowledged that the entire controversy has been bad for the reputation of African football, saying “it’s not a good look” for the continent’s top sport. He added that the timing of the Caf ruling, coming two months after Senegal had already celebrated the title and even paraded the trophy during a pre-World Cup friendly against Peru, left him confused. “If you give the decision to the referee on the pitch, you’ve got to leave that decision to him and leave it how it is,” he said. “In Africa we have to stay together, be strong and do everything in our power to lift up African football. It wasn’t a great look so I just hope they put it right.”
Senegal will kick off their 2026 World Cup campaign in Group I, where they are set to face 2022 champions France, Norway and Iraq. The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, will run from June 11 to July 19, 2026.