The Guinea Football Federation has called on the Confederation of African Football to review the outcome of the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations, citing similarities with the recent decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 title.
Guinea’s request follows CAF’s ruling that awarded the 2025 AFCON final to Morocco after declaring the Senegal National Team to have forfeited the match due to a walkout.
The West African nation argues that similar disciplinary principles should be applied to historical matches, particularly the decisive 1976 encounter between Guinea and Morocco.
The 1976 AFCON was played in a four-team round-robin format involving Morocco, Guinea, Nigeria, and Egypt. Heading into the final round of matches, Guinea needed a win to secure the title, while Morocco required only a draw.
Guinea took the lead in the 33rd minute through Chérif Souleymane, but the match was briefly interrupted when Moroccan players walked off the pitch in protest over a refereeing decision. Play later resumed, and Ahmed Makrouh equalised in the 86th minute to secure a 1–1 draw.
The result saw Morocco finish top of the group with five points, clinching their first AFCON title, while Guinea placed second.
However, the Guinean federation insists the incident should now be reassessed using the same standards applied in the 2025 ruling, which penalised Senegal for a similar walkout.
“Give us back our 1976 AFCON trophy,” the federation said in a statement, as it called for consistency in CAF’s disciplinary decisions.
Sports legal analysts, however, note that current CAF regulations, including provisions governing forfeitures, were not in force at the time and are rarely applied retroactively.
CAF has yet to respond to Guinea’s request, which could test the governing body’s willingness to revisit historical outcomes in African football.
