The Moroccan national team captain, Achraf Hakimi, has rejected the African Cup of Nations, AFCON, trophy just awarded to his country b6 the Conferation of African Football, CAF.
Indeed, CAF has only days ago withdrawn the trophy from Senegal as champions for leaving the field of play en masse over complaint on referee’s decisiin.
Based on viral reports and social media statements, Moroccan star, Hakimi, reportedly expressed disagreement with the CAF decision to award Morocco the 2025 AFCON title, stating that Senegal deserved the victory.
Senegal originally won the 2025 AFCON final 1-0 against Morocco on the pitch in Rabat, despite a controversial penalty decision and a 15-minute walkout by Senegal to protest that decision.
Following an appeal by the Moroccan federation, the CAF Appeal Board overturned the result, declaring Senegal had forfeited due to the walkout, resulting in a 3-0 loss and awarding the title to Morocco.
Hakimi reportedly rejected the title, saying, “My mum told me to reject the AFCON trophy. I’m officially rejecting the trophy and hope my teammates do the same. Senegal beat us fairly and deserved the win”.
The decision has created immense controversy, with Senegal protesting the “unprecedented” move, while Hakimi’s stance is seen as a major act of sportsmanship.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
