The Senegalese Football Federation has announced that it will be appealing the unprecedented ruling by the Confederation of African Football to strip them of their 2025 Afcon crown.
“The Senegalese Football Federation condemns this unjust, unprecedented, and unacceptable decision, which brings African football into disrepute,” Senegal said in a statement.
“To defend its rights and the interests of Senegalese football, the federation will, as soon as possible, file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.”
On Tuesday night, CAF, led by mining magnate Patrice Motsepe, released a shocking statement that declared Morocco the new Africa Cup of Nations champions.
The CAF Appeals Board, which is led by Justice Harriman from Nigeria, accused Senegal of infringing Articles 82 and 84 of the Afcon Regulations and ultimately “forfeited the match”.
Controversial penalty decision
According to the ruling by CAF, Senegal “forfeited the match” after they temporarily walked off the pitch as a way of protesting a controversial penalty decision by the referee in the last minutes of their final in Morocco.
After things had cooled down and they had accepted their fate, Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz missed the spot-kick.
The game then went to extra time, with the Lions of Teranga being crowned the African champions for the second time in their history.
However, all that history has seemingly been wiped away, as months of bickering in CAF boardrooms have concluded with a ruling that states that Morocco are the new 2025 Afcon champions due to the Senegalese team staying for too long off the pitch, according to Articles 82 and 84 of the regulations.
Full CAF statement below:
