Ashraf Hakimi Declines the Africa Cup of Nations Trophy

Maroc national team captain Ashraf Hakimi announced his courageous and event-related decision amidst the events surrounding the Africa Cup of Nations final. Zamin.uz reported on this.

He refused to accept the award presented to the team after the 2025 tournament final. He considers this decision not merely a personal wish, but a fundamental principle.

The defender noted that his mother also advised him to act this way, stating that if there is no real victory, the trophy should not be accepted. According to Hakimi, the Moroccan national team had significant opportunities to win on the field during the tournament.

However, they were unable to fully capitalize on these opportunities. He emphasized that football is a sport where both victories and defeats are natural occurrences.

For this very reason, he openly stated that he cannot consider himself an African champion. Furthermore, expressing hope that his teammates share the same viewpoint, he wished for them to also adhere to authenticity.

This incident arose due to a decision made by the Confederation of African Football after the final. The Confederation awarded a technical defeat to the Senegal national team for leaving the field early and decided to grant the victory to Morocco.

Although Ashraf Hakimi stated that he respects the CAF decision, he clearly indicated that he does not recognize this title as a real victory achieved on the field. He concluded his speech by once again congratulating the Senegal national team and emphasized that the trophy was awarded not as a result of competition, but due to other reasons.

This information was presented based on reports from the One.uz website.