Mo Salah And Egypt Hit With AFCON Sanction After Breaching Tournament Regulation

Egypt have been handed a sanction and a 'strong warning' by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) following their win over Zimbabwe at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Mohamed Salah scored an injury-time winner for Hossam Hassan's side as the seven-time AFCON champions came from behind to secure a crucial three points in their Group B opener.

Despite dominating with almost 80 per cent possession in the first half, overwhelming favourites Egypt were 1-0 down at the break after Zimbabwe took a surprise lead through striker Prince Dube.

But after Manchester City's Omar Marmoush equalised in the 64th minute, the inevitable Salah scored a deserved late winner, showing great composure to beat goalkeeper Washington Arubi.

"We were unlucky in this game. We wasted many chances and made it harder than it should have been,” manager Hassan said in his post-match interview. “I warned the players about this scenario, and we have to learn the lesson.”

Salah celebrates scoring the winner against Zimbabwe. Image credit: Getty

On the topic of lessons learnt, Egypt will think again when it comes to post-match media duties after they were handed a $5,000 fine following their AFCON opener on Monday.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) imposed the sanction after Egypt's players and technical staff failed to fulfil mandatory media duties in the mixed zone after the final whistle, as per Africa Top Sports.

African journalist Micky Jnr claims the entire Egyptian delegation walked past journalists without responding to post-match questions, which is said to be a clear violation of CAF media obligations.

CAF has also issued a strong warning to the nation, stressing that stricter sanctions will be enforced if the situation is repeated after their second AFCON group game against South Africa on Friday.

Speaking to the media is an important component of CAF's tournament regulations, with post-match interviews and mixed-zone interactions being deemed essential for the overall image of African football, as well as fan engagement and transparency.

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As mentioned above, Egypt will take on South Africa in their next group stage game.

“There are no easy matches in this tournament,” manager Hossam Hassan said after Monday's win over Zimbabwe. “We want to compete for the title. Egypt is a big nation in Africa and has the right to fight for the trophy.”