The Government of Senegal rejects declaring Morocco champion of the Africa Cup in a “seriously illegal” decision

The Government of Senegal rejected this Wednesday the declaration of the Moroccan soccer team as champion of the last African Cup, after the African Football Confederation (CAF) declared this Tuesday the Senegal men’s team “guilty of losing by default” in the final, which was played on January 18, for having left the field and threatening not to return, as a sign of protest after a penalty, a decision that they described as “seriously illegal.”

“The Government of Senegal expresses its deep dismay at the decision adopted by the CAF appeal court, by which the Senegal national team is stripped of its title of African 2025 champion and awarded to Morocco,” wrote Marie Rose Khady Fatou Faye, Secretary of State to the Prime Minister and spokesperson for the Senegalese Government.

For the Executive of the African country, “this unprecedented decision, of exceptional gravity, collides head-on with the fundamental principles that underpin sporting ethics”, among which “fairness, loyalty and respect for what happened on the field of play” stand out. “It derives from a manifestly erroneous interpretation of the regulations, which leads to a seriously illegal and deeply unjust decision,” he added.

“By calling into question a result obtained at the end of a match played regularly and won respecting the rules of the game, the CAF seriously undermines its own credibility, as well as the legitimate trust that the African people place in continental sports institutions,” the Government letter added.

For this reason, Senegal “cannot tolerate that an administrative decision erases commitment, merit and sporting excellence.” “Senegal unambiguously rejects this attempt at unjust dispossession,” firmly stated the Senegalese Government, which requested the opening of an independent international investigation into suspicions of corruption in the CAF.

Thus, Senegal will appeal this decision through “all appropriate channels”, including before the competent international jurisdictional bodies, so that “justice is done and the primacy of the sporting result is restored.”

The Senegalese Government also took the opportunity to renew the solidarity of the entire nation with the Senegalese detained in Morocco following the incidents at the Africa Cup final. “Senegal will remain firm, vigilant and inflexible in defending the rights of the Senegalese national team and in restoring the African sporting spirit,” the letter concluded.

This Tuesday, the CAF Appeals Board admitted “in good form” and upheld the appeal filed by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) after the outcome of that final, where Brahim Díaz missed the controversial penalty by throwing it Panenka style and did not avoid an extension where Pape Gueye scored a great goal that gave the trophy to Senegal and lengthened the drought of the Moroccan team, which was also host of the tournament.

“The decision of the CAF Disciplinary Committee is annulled. The CAF Appeals Board further considers that the conduct of the Senegal team falls within the scope of application of articles 82 and 84 of the Regulations of the African Cup of Nations,” the press release stressed.

In this sense, the text stressed that “it is declared that the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF), through the conduct of its team, violated article 82 of the Regulations” and that by applying article 84 the match was declared lost to the Senegalese team “due to failure to appear”, when after that penalty some players left the field for a few minutes.