Senegal to fight ‘iniquitous and unprecedented’ Afcon decision at CAS
Senegal’s football association has vowed to launch a legal challenge at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the decision to strip it of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and hand the title to Morocco.
Two months after Senegal beat the hosts 1-0 in a controversial final, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced late last night that they had been deemed to have forfeited the match by walking off in protest at a penalty decision.
The incident caused a delay of 17 minutes late in the game and Morocco’s Brahim Diaz failed to score the disputed spot-kick before Senegal won a chaotic contest in extra time.
The Senegalese Football Federation called the CAF’s ruling “iniquitous, unprecedented and unacceptable”, adding that it “threw discredit on African football”.
It said: “For the defence of the rights and interests of Senegalese football, the federation will engage, with the shortest delay, an appeal procedure before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne.”
CAF verdict that handed Morocco title
The CAF’s decision means the final will be recorded as a 3-0 win for Morocco unless Senegal is successful with its legal challenge.
Its verdict read: “The CAF Appeal Board decided that in application of Article 84 of the regulations… the Senegal national team is declared to have forfeited the final match of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations with the result of the match being recorded as 3–0 in favour of the Federation Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF). All other motions or prayers for relief are dismissed.”
Responding to the ruling, Morocco said “its approach has never been intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams participating in this competition, but solely to request the application of the competition’s regulations”.
It added: “The Federation reaffirms its commitment to respecting the rules, ensuring clarity in the competitive framework, and maintaining stability within African competitions.
“It also wishes to commend all the nations that took part in this edition of the Afcon, which has been a major moment for African football.”