It may be just a football decision, but the ramifications are being felt far beyond the pitch. I’m referring, of course, to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) appeals board decision to strip Senegal of its 2026 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) title, punishing the team for temporarily walking out of its final against Morocco, and crown the North African nation as champion.

The decision is already causing ruptures between the two nations, which are united not only by their citizens’ fervent love of football but also by commercial, cultural and religious bonds, with Senegal and Morocco both being majority-Muslim.

Tijaniyyah, a Sufi Muslim order, is widely followed in the two countries, and extensive cultural exchanges include student programmes, migration and joint festivals.

Morocco is a leading investor in Senegal, mainly in finance, agriculture and energy. In banking, the Moroccan presence is anchored by Attijariwafa Bank, BMCE Bank and Banque Centrale Populaire, while AMIFA and Wafa are highly recognisable brands in the microfinance and life assurance sectors.

According to a recent media report, Moroccan foreign direct investment in Senegal, which stood at $105-million in 2017 and $116-million in 2018, rose to $413-million in 2019, the latest year for which figures are available.

On the trade front, Senegal’s exports to Morocco in 2024 – dominated by horticultural products, fresh fish, canned tuna and sardines, peanut paste, and nuts – totalled 24.7-billion CFA francs. Its imports from the North African nation, mostly manufactured goods and consumer products, totalled 147-billion CFA francs.

This is how the Afcon saga unfolded: on January 18, as the two titans of African football battled it out for continental glory, Morocco was controversially awarded a penalty, which Senegal’s players felt resulted from a bad refereeing decision, prompting their walkout. Play resumed after 14 minutes, the penalty was missed, and Senegal went on to win the match 1-0 after extra time, lifting the Afcon trophy for the second time.

I must admit, I don’t quite understand why Morocco football officials felt so aggrieved that they made a beeline for CAF’s appeals board, which ruled on March 17 that Senegal forfeited the final by leaving the field of play without the referee’s permission and awarded Morocco a 3-0 default win.

Senegal’s football governing body is utterly unhappy with this decision and has instructed its lawyers to take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. So, while the curtain may have drawn on the 2025/26 iteration of Afcon, we may still hear about the tournament’s last match for a very long time to come, given that the wheels of justice – even when the dispute concerns only sports – grind slowly.

Reverberations from that ill-tempered match are also being felt far away from arbitration tribunals. As international media reported after news of the CAF appeals board’s decision broke, feelings between Senegalese and Moroccan citizens are hardening.

Referring to Moroccans, a student in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, told Al Jazeera: “When everything goes well, they call us their brothers. But when things don’t go their way, they start being nasty.”

Against the backdrop of such sentiment, Morocco’s embassy in Dakar called on Moroccans living in Senegal to “demonstrate restraint, vigilance and a sense of responsibility”.

Over in Casablanca, Morocco, a home appliances trader had this to say: “Honestly, my views towards Senegalese and sub-Saharan Africans changed after this … We used to feel sympathy and help them because they were migrants who had struggled to get here.

“Where there was once sympathy and compassion, now I will treat them as they have treated us.”

But some Moroccans – and I hope they are an overwhelming majority – don’t share this view. One said: “We would have preferred it to stay with Senegal because it doesn’t feel right otherwise.”

But at the end of the day this is only football, the beautiful game that is meant to bring joy, excitement and a sense of community, not rancour, resentment or division. Controversial rulings, refereeing mistakes or administrative decisions may spark debate, frustration or even anger, but they should never overshadow the spirit of the sport.