The Senegalese Football Federation has announced its intention to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for the decision to give the Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco. The country was stripped of the AFCON title and now wants to challenge the decision two months after the acrimonious conclusion to the tournament.
Senegal to appeal CAF's decision of handing AFCON title to Morocco
The Senegal federation took over their X (formerly Twitter) account and responded to the decision "iniquitous, unprecedented and unacceptable" and stated that it "threw discredit on African football."
The statement further read:
"For the defence of the rights and interests of Senegalese football, the federation will engage, with the shortest delay, an appeal procedure before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.”
Additionally, the secretary of the Senegalese Football Federation, Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, told Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise:
"We will not back down. The law is on our side."
Seydou Sow also framed the decision as shameful for Africa. Earlier, according to a report by L'Équipe, a Senegal federation member was quoted as stating that they were “outraged” and are waiting for a meeting on March 29, which will be a “World War 3.”
The AFCON title was initially won by Senegal following a 1-0 win after extra time. Pape Gueye scored after chaotic scenes at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, where Senegal players had walked away from the pitch following the awarding of a penalty from VAR.
The match was halted after 17 minutes, when most of the players walked off the pitch towards the dressing room. The CAF has now awarded the victory to Morocco, stating that Senegal forfeited the match as per the Article 82 and 84 of the AFCON regulations.
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