Senegal’s coach, Pape Thiaw, orders his players off the pitch at the AFCON final. Photo Credit: Reuters.
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Claim: A Facebook user claims CAF has suspended the Senegalese head coach.
Verdict: False. No reputable news outlet has reported the alleged suspension of Pape. The FIFA president, Infantino, has only condemned the Senegalese team’s walk-off during their match against Morocco in the AFCON final. Meanwhile, CAF has disclosed that it would study the footage of the incident and refer the matter to the disciplinary bodies for further action.
Full Text
In a chaotic African Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, in which Senegal’s head coach, Pape Thiaw, ordered his players to leave the pitch during play, many football fans and viewers have widely deemed the incident controversial.
Thiaw’s rather erratic behaviour came after the Congolese umpire, Jean-Jacques Ndala, had awarded a penalty in favour of Morocco, after Brahim Diaz had been pulled down to the ground by Senegal’s full-back El Hadiji Diouf while defending a corner some minutes into stoppage time. However, 14 minutes later, Senegal returned to the pitch, and Edouard Mendy palmed Diaz’s weak panenka to deny the hosts of being hopeful champions.
Following that development, a Facebook user, Mr Activist, claims that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has suspended Thiaw for walking off the pitch with his players during play.
“Confederation of African Football (CAF) suspended the Senegalese head coach because of his actions against Morocco final,” the Facebook user said via a video.
Similar claims were made here, here, here, and here.
As of Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, the post has generated 17 likes, four comments, and six shares.
Due to the sensitivity of the claim and to curb disinformation, DUBAWA decided to verify the claim.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted a keyword search regarding the claim to see if any credible news outlet had reported it, but none have.
Punch newspaper reports that Morocco has sought the intervention of CAF and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) by deciding to pursue legal action against the Senegal national team. However, the news outlet further reported that FIFA president Gianni Infantino has criticised the conduct, while CAF has disclosed it would review the incident and refer the matter to disciplinary bodies for action against those involved.
CAF, via a statement, disclosed that it “condemns” the behaviour of some players and officials during the AFCON final between Senegal and Morocco. It further stated that the confederation is “reviewing” all footage and will “refer” the matter to competent bodies for appropriate action.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that FIFA’s boss, Gianni Infantino, has condemned the incident, describing it as “unacceptable scenes” and said such behaviour puts the essence of football at risk.
However, there was no mention by any of the governing parties concerned that a decision had been made to suspend Senegal’s head coach.
Conclusion
No reputable news outlet has reported the alleged suspension of Senegal’s football coach. Meanwhile, CAF has only stated that it is reviewing the incident and would refer the matter to other disciplinary bodies. Therefore, the claim is false.
