Morocco was stunning awarded the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) title on Tuesday by appeals judges by overturning Senegal’s 1-0 win in the controversial final played, exactly two months ago, on January 18. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said that the appeal board ruled that Senegal was ‘declared to have forfeited the final’ and their 1-0 win in extra time becomes a 3-0 default win for Morocco, who were the host nation.
For the unversed, Senegal players, led by coach Pape Thiaw, left the field protesting the referee’s decision to award a penalty that was set to decide the match during the stoppage time for 15 minutes. However, when play resumed later, Morocco forward Brahim Diaz’s spot kick was saved by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. Senegal ended up scoring the only goal in the extra time to win the AFCON Cup title.
Before the protest that led to Senegal players walking away, the tension in the stadium was already raised as they denied a goal before the penalty was given to Morocco. In the second minute of stoppage time, Senegal goal was ruled out for a foul by Abdoulaye Seck. However, TV replays showed little contact on Morocco defended Achraf Hakimi.
At an initial disciplinary hearing, CAF imposed fines of more than $1 million and also banned Senegal and Morocco players and officials. However, CAF had left the result unchanged.
Morocco Football Federation releases statement
The Moroccan football federation (FRMF) had initiallyย appealed to the CAFโs Disciplinary Board which had been rejected. However, when they alleged that Senegal had violated Article 82 of the regulations for the tournament, their appeal was accepted by the CAF’s appeal board.
The scope of Articles 82 and 84 of the regulations of the African Cup of Nations state, “if, for any โreason โwhatsoever, a team refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular โ end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered the loser and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition.”
“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.ย 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,” the statement from FRMF read.
Now the Senegal have confirmed that they will be taking the matter up at the Court of Arbitraton for Sport (CAS) and are seeking to overturn CAF’s decision. Meanwhile, according to the verdict made on Tuesday, Morocco won its first African title since 1976 while denying Senegal its second title, after lifting the trophy for the first time in 2021.
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