After the Confederation of African Football (CAF) denied Senegal the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and gave it to Morocco, the Senegalese government demanded an impartial international probe into alleged corruption inside the organization.
According to Naija News, Senegal defeated Morocco 1-0 in the January final. However, on Tuesday, March 17, the CAF reversed the outcome, declaring the game forfeited after Senegal players protested a stoppage-time penalty call.
After a 17-minute wait, the players came back. Pape Gueye scored the game-winning goal in extra time after Brahim Diaz missed the penalty.
The Moroccan FA appealed, and the CAF decided to record the outcome as 3-0 in Morocco’s favor.
The Senegalese government called the ruling “unprecedented and exceptionally serious” in a sharply worded statement, adding that it was founded on “a manifestly erroneous interpretation of the regulations, leading to a grossly illegal and deeply unjust decision.”
According to the statement, “Senegal categorically rejects this unjustified attempt at dispossession.”
The Senegalese Football Federation has indicated that it will appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, according to earlier reports from Naija News.
“This decision is a breach of trust that is not based on any rule of law,” stated Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, secretary general of the FSF.
“We believed that the jury was there to carry out an order rather than to respect the law.
“We won’t give up. We have the support of the law. The battle is far from finished. Senegal will stop at nothing to protect its rights.
Additionally, a number of players have declined to accept the decision. “We know what we experienced that evening in Rabat,” stated midfielder Idrissa Gueye.Nobody can take that away from us.
The International Football Association Board has opened consultations on how to deal with similar demonstrations in the future as a result of the walk-off, which has sparked broader concern.
Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, declared that similar incidents must not be repeated, calling it “unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner.”
There was already a lot of controversy surrounding the final, which took place in Rabat, including disagreements about refereeing calls and VAR interventions.
The game community has also criticized Caf’s decision. Given that Moroccan FA president Fouzi Lekjaa is also CAF’s first vice-president, former disciplinary officer Raymond Hack cautioned that the result feeds suspicions of political meddling.
Hack stated, “The game should be won on the field of play, not in a boardroom.”
