2 months after the final

Unbelievable! Senegal stripped of Africa Cup title

On January 18, the sky was still full of violins for Sadio Mané and Co.—but as of March 17, the West Africans have had their Africa Cup of Nations title snatched from their hands…(Bild: AFP/SEBASTIEN BOZON)

The scandal-ridden Africa Cup of Nations final in January has now had serious consequences: The Court of Appeal of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) stripped Senegal—which had defeated Morocco 1-0 in extra time in the final in Rabat—of the title and declared Morocco the champion.

The Senegalese team had left the field in extra time in protest of a penalty decision. CAF now interpreted this as a forfeit and awarded the match 3-0 to Morocco.

  The tournament hosts had contested the final defeat on January 18, which was marred by turmoil and protests. The appeal was upheld by the CAF Disciplinary Committee, the African Football Confederation announced on Tuesday. The committee thus overruled the CAF’s initial decision, which had imposed numerous fines but left the sporting result unchanged. As a result, Senegal’s coach, Pape Thiaw, had received only a five-game suspension and a fine of $100,000 from the federation for instructing his players to leave the field following a controversial penalty call.

Appeals Court Rules Otherwise
The Appeals Committee has now ruled, based on Article 82 of the Africa Cup of Nations regulations, that Senegal forfeited the match by leaving the field and must be declared the loser. In its initial decision, the federation had ruled that the team had returned to the field and therefore did not meet the criteria for a forfeit.

The bone of contention was a controversial late penalty call in favor of Morocco. Afterward, the Senegalese team had left the field almost en masse. However, Brahim Diaz missed the penalty kick after play resumed. In extra time, Pape Gueye scored the winning goal for Senegal.