The Guinea Football Federation has officially petitioned CAF to strip Morocco of its 1976 AFCON title and award it to Guinea, arguing that the same strict “walkout” penalties used to overturn the 2025 final should be applied retroactively to a similar 50-year-old incident.
The Guinea Football Federation (FGF) has launched a formal appeal to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), demanding the reassignment of the 1976 AFCON trophy. The petition, filed on Thursday, March 19, 2026, centers on the decisive final-round match between Morocco and Guinea in Addis Ababa. Guinea argues that Morocco’s players staged a 15-minute walkout in the 33rd minute to protest a refereeing decision after Chérif Souleymane had put Guinea ahead. Under the “four-team round-robin” format of that era, Morocco eventually returned to the pitch and secured a 1-1 draw with an 86th-minute equalizer—a result that gave them the point they needed to finish atop the group and claim their maiden title.
This move follows CAF’s unprecedented decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 AFCON title 58 days after their 1-0 victory over Morocco in the final. In that case, the CAF Appeals Board invoked Articles 82 and 84 to declare Senegal losers by a 3-0 forfeit because their players briefly left the field to protest a VAR-awarded penalty. Guinea’s federation insists that “similar disciplinary standards should apply” to all historical matches involving pitch abandonment. “Give us back our 1976 AFCON trophy,” the federation stated, arguing that if current regulations can rewrite a result from two months ago, they should also be able to correct a “sporting injustice” from five decades ago.
Sports legal analysts are skeptical of the bid, noting that the specific language of Article 84—which mandates an automatic 3-0 forfeit for teams that “refuse to play”—was not in force in 1976. Furthermore, legal principles generally prohibit the retroactive application of new laws to past events. However, the controversy has placed CAF in a difficult position; the governing body is already facing a “medal war” as the Senegalese government calls for an independent international investigation into alleged corruption. While CAF has yet to issue a formal response to Guinea’s request, observers suggest the appeal is designed more to highlight the “absurdity” of the 2025 ruling than to actually secure a 50-year-old trophy.
1976 vs. 2025: Comparison of Walkout Incidents
| Feature | 1976 Final (Decisive Match) | 2025 Final (Knockout) |
| Teams | Morocco vs. Guinea | Senegal vs. Morocco |
| The Incident | Morocco walked off for ~15 mins. | Senegal walked off for ~10 mins. |
| Immediate Outcome | Match resumed; finished 1-1. | Match resumed; finished 1-0 (AET). |
| Initial Ruling | Sporting result stood (Morocco Win). | Sporting result stood (Senegal Win). |
| Appeals Ruling | No Challenge Filed. | Result Overturned to 0-3 Forfeit. |
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