Edouard Mendy breaks silence on Senegal-Morocco CAN 2025 final dispute

The controversy surrounding the CAN 2025 final persists, nearly three months after the initial match. On January 18th in Rabat, Senegal had initially secured a 1-0 victory following extra time. However, on March 17th, the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) overturned this outcome, awarding Morocco a 3-0 win by forfeit.

This decision by the appeal jury was based on articles 82 and 84 of the regulations, which state that a team leaving the field or refusing to resume play is automatically declared to have lost. The Fédération Sénégalaise de Football has disputed this interpretation and has lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) to challenge the verdict.

While awaiting the TAS ruling, Edouard Mendy has publicly addressed the situation, speaking out in defense of the Lions de la Teranga. During an appearance on the Saudi podcast Mo Show Prod, the Al-Hilal goalkeeper presented an account of events that directly refutes Moroccan claims of a collective abandonment of the pitch.

Mendy, who emerged as a hero in the final for saving Brahim Diaz’s penalty, underscored a crucial detail. “People were saying that we all left the pitch during the final, but that’s incorrect. There were still players on the field. It’s very important to highlight this,” he stated.

Edouard Mendy’s defense of Senegal in the CAN final dispute

He further bolstered his argument by referencing the official report from referee Jean-Jacques Ndala: “And that’s why the referee didn’t blow the final whistle. He mentioned in his report that the match paused for a moment, but not that the team abandoned it, because players remained on the field.”

According to the former Chelsea goalkeeper, the game did indeed restart, which would invalidate any claim of a forfeit: “The match stopped momentarily and then resumed, so from that point, there’s no need to discuss what happened because the game continued to its conclusion. If the entire team had been absent, we wouldn’t be having this conversation today. But that wasn’t the situation.”

Nevertheless, this perspective does not entirely resolve all ambiguities surrounding the incident. Reports from Afrik Foot suggest that the official account, supported by visual evidence, indicates that almost the entire team, with the sole exception of Sadio Mané, did leave the field for several minutes—including Edouard Mendy himself, who was reportedly among the first to head towards the dressing rooms. The conflicting narratives continue, as the football world awaits the conclusive decision from the TAS.