Betclic has announced it will retrospectively pay out bets placed on Morocco winning the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, following the Confederation of African Football’s decision to strip Senegal of the title and award it to the Atlas Lions by forfeit.
The French operator confirmed payouts on two markets: Morocco as winner of the competition at odds of 5.00, and Morocco’s victory in the final at odds of 1.60. Bets already settled on Senegal’s win will not be reversed.
The CAF Ruling
CAF’s Appeal Board announced its decision on 18 March, declaring Senegal to have forfeited the final under Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON Regulations. The ruling followed an appeal filed by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF) after Senegal players briefly walked off the pitch in protest during the closing stages of normal time on 18 January, after a penalty was awarded to Morocco — a spot kick subsequently missed by Brahim Díaz.
The referee allowed play to resume after a 14-minute delay. Senegal went on to win 1-0 after extra time, with Idrissa Gueye scoring in the 94th minute. CAF’s initial disciplinary decision had imposed fines and player suspensions but stopped short of altering the result. Morocco’s federation appealed that outcome, and the Appeals Board overturned it, recording the match as a 3-0 forfeit victory for Morocco under tournament regulations.
The decision ended Morocco’s 49-year wait for a second AFCON title — and produced what is likely the most contested off-field verdict in the tournament’s history.
Betclic’s Decision
Under standard sportsbook settlement rules, bets are settled on the first official result provided by the organiser. Senegal’s on-field win had already been processed accordingly. Betclic’s move to additionally honour bets on Morocco reflects a commercial and reputational judgement rather than a regulatory obligation.
The regulations allow bets to be settled in accordance with the first results provided by the organizer. But faced with this exceptional context, we decided to take into account this new sporting reality by validating the bets that gave Morocco the victory.
The operator described the decision as consistent with “one of the biggest twists and turns in the recent history of African football.”
The payout decision means some bettors will have been paid twice — once on Senegal’s win and, if they also held Morocco futures, again on the retrospective settlement. Betclic did not indicate the total value of bets affected.
What Comes Next
The Senegalese Football Federation has condemned the CAF ruling as “unfair, unprecedented, and unacceptable” and confirmed it will file an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. The FSF secretary-general Abdoulaye Seydou Sow said the federation “will not back down.” Senegal’s government has separately called for an international independent inquiry into suspected corruption at CAF.
Should CAS take up the case, a ruling is unlikely before 2027. Legal analysis published since the verdict has focused on whether the Appeals Board correctly applied Article 84 — which references both Articles 82 and 83 — and whether the referee’s field-of-play authority limits CAF’s ability to alter results after the fact.
For betting operators, the episode raises an unresolved question on settlement policy: how to handle retrospective results changes where the original settlement was technically correct under the rules in place at the time. Betclic’s approach — honouring both sets of bets rather than voiding or clawing back — sets one precedent, though the matter remains open while CAS proceedings are pending.
Source: Betclic
