Government of Senegal: We want an investigation, this is corruption and it is illegal

“Senegal unequivocally rejects this unjustified seizure attempt,” government spokeswoman Marie Rose Khady Fatou Faye said in a statement, condemning the decision as “extremely serious” and “extremely illegal.”

The official Dakar “calls for an independent international investigation into suspected corruption within CAF’s governing bodies. Furthermore, Senegal will use all appropriate legal avenues, including before the competent international courts, to ensure justice and restore the primacy of the sporting result,” the statement reads.

In the final of the African Cup of Nations on January 18, several Senegalese players temporarily left the field in protest against the referee’s decision. Shortly after Senegal’s goal was disallowed, the referee awarded a penalty to Morocco in second-half stoppage time.

After 15 minutes of confusion, which eventually led to the return of the Senegalese players to the pitch – and amidst the chaos that spilled over into the stands, with Senegalese fans throwing missiles and trying to storm the pitch – the Moroccan wingerč Brahim Diaz missed the penalty. During extra time, Senegal won thanks to Pape Gueye’s goal.

On Tuesday night, the CAF Appeals Committee justified its decision by referring to Articles 82 and 84 of AFCON regulations, according to which if a team “refuses to play or leaves the field before the scheduled end of the match, it will be considered a loser and will be definitively eliminated from the ongoing competition.”

The Senegalese football federation condemned the “unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable decision that discredits African football” and indicated that it would “as soon as possible” launch an appeal before the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).