Joseph-Antoine Bell has said both Morocco and Senegal carry responsibility for the controversy surrounding the CAN 2025 final, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) expected to rule on the case between 18 and 22 October.

The former Cameroon goalkeeper was speaking after Thursday’s hearing involving the two sides, according to winwin. The dispute centres on the decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeal Jury to overturn Senegal’s victory and award the final to Morocco by default.

Senegal won the match 1-0 on the pitch on 18 January at Stade Moulay Abdellah in Rabat. However, two months later, on 17 March, the CAF Appeal Jury declared Morocco the winner after ruling that Senegal had breached Articles 82 and 84 of the CAN regulations.

Those provisions state that a team can forfeit a match if its players leave the playing area before the game has ended.

Senegal’s players briefly left the pitch during stoppage time after protesting against a penalty awarded to Morocco. The incident came moments after a Senegal goal had been disallowed. The walk-off followed the instructions of Senegal’s then coach, Pape Thiaw.

Morocco had initially been unsuccessful in its appeal at first instance, but later secured a ruling in its favour from the CAF Appeal Jury. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) had argued that the relevant regulations required Senegal to be sanctioned for leaving the field.

Senegal subsequently took the case to CAS, relying on Article 5 of the IFAB Laws of the Game. That provision gives the referee authority over the match and allows the official to let play continue until the game has reached its conclusion.

In a telephone interview with RFI, Bell argued that the two parties could be criticised for different reasons. He said Morocco had grounds to challenge the outcome under the written regulations, while Senegal was also at fault when judged against the spirit of football.

“Morocco can be criticised for trying to win on a technicality,” Bell said.

He also suggested that the FRMF had weakened its position by allowing the match to continue to its conclusion before pursuing the matter through the regulations. In his view, the federation could unintentionally appear to be forcing the issue after accepting that play should carry on.

The CAS hearing has now taken place, and its ruling is expected during the period from 18 to 22 October. Until then, the final remains the subject of an unresolved dispute between the two football authorities.