The unprecedented decision from the Confederation of African Football overturns this winter's title


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The Senegalese football federation (FSF) has announced it will appeal the decision to strip the country of the Africa Cup of Nations title. The FSF described the unprecedented decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a "travesty", one which they intend to address at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

On Tuesday evening CAF awarded the title to Morocco as a 3-0 win, its appeal board concluding that Senegal had "forfeited the final" by walking off the field in the late stages of January's final. The Lions of Teranga would go on to win their second Africa Cup of Nations title in extra time, a crown they would hold for nearly two months before CAF reached its final sanctioning decision.

The decision was labelled a "shame for Africa" by Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, secretary general of the FSF, as his federation confirmed that they would challenge CAF's decision in arbitration. Speaking on Radiodiffusion Television Senegalaise, Sow said: "This is a travesty; this decision is based on absolutely nothing. It has no legal foundation.

"We will not back down. Senegalese people should have no doubt. The truth is on Senegal's side, the law is on Senegal's side." The FSF themselves said that the appeal board had made "an unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable decision which brings discredit to African football".

Angered by a series of refereeing decisions during the game that culminated with Brahim Diaz being awarded a penalty, Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw had ordered his players off the pitch in the 83rd minute. The match was suspended for 14 minutes before play was resumed, during which time Senegal supporters invaded the field and clashed with both Moroccan fans and police. When the game eventually resumed, Diaz missed his penalty, and the hosts found themselves undone in extra time as Pape Gueye scored the game's only goal.

Ultimately, however, those events after the Senegal players exited the field have been declared null and void by CAF, who upheld an appeal by the Moroccan football federation (FRMF) and concluded that Thiaw's team had broken Article 82 of their regulations in exiting the field. That reads that "if, for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report for a match, or refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered looser [sic] and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition. The same shall apply for the teams previously disqualified by decision of CAF."

Article 84 states that any team that breaks Article 82 will be awarded a 3-0 loss. Such a ruling is without precedent in the history of AFCON and indeed the highest level of international football. It also means Morocco's 49-year wait to be crowned continental champions ended not on the field but in the boardrooms, at least for the time being.

Posting on Instagram, defender Moussa Niakhate, who played the full 120 minutes, captioned an image of him holding the trophy with the line: "Come and get them. They're crazy!" West Ham's El Hadji Malick Diouf posted an image from the celebrations, saying: "Show yourselves, champions!"

In response to the decision, the FRMF said: "The Federation wishes to recall that 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. 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."

Senegal players and staff had already been sanctioned for their role in the late-game drama. Thiaw was handed a five-game suspension while Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr got two games; their federation also received a hefty fine. As if the drama around the penalty had not been enough, two Morocco players were also sanctioned for interfering with the towel of Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. Ismael Saibari was one of those, Achraf Hakimi the other, but CAF today ruled that his three-game suspension should be lowered to two games, one of which was suspended.

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