Senegal to Present AFCON Trophy at Paris Friendly Despite Having Title Stripped

At a press conference, a lawyer representing Senegal said that Morocco had been unsuccessful in their attempt to have the medals and prize money given to them. Sebastien Bozon / AFP via Getty Images

Senegal have announced they will present the Africa Cup of Nations trophy before their friendly against Peru on Saturday despite having their title stripped.

At a press conference in Paris on Thursday, a lawyer representing Senegal in their legal challenge against that decision said that Morocco — who were awarded a 3-0 victory in the AFCON final by an appeals panel of the Confederation of African Football — had asked for “the medals, the prize money, the rewards” to be given to them, only for that request to be rejected by the appeals jury.

Seydou Diagne also said that the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) will file “a corruption complaint” against “five individuals”, though not against the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), which filed the original appeal with CAF to have the result of the AFCON final overturned. CAF has been approached for comment. The FRMF declined to comment.

“To reassure the supporters, the fans and those who believe in the right to justice and to the protection of sporting discipline values of football, do not worry,” Diagne added. “There is no decision today from CAF or its appeals jury that orders the Senegalese Football Federation or the national team to return their medals or to return the trophy on the pitch, those decisions do not exist.”

Senegal posted the schedule for their international friendly at the Stade de France in Paris on Thursday morning, including a 15-minute “official presentation” of the trophy. They have already qualified for the World Cup in the summer and will be in a group with France, Norway and a playoff team.

“This decision cannot even be considered a true ​sporting justice ruling — it is so crude, so absurd, so irrational,” Diagne said.

Also present at the press conference was FSF president Abdoulaye Fall, who called his organisation’s pushback against the decision a “moral and legal crusade”, via Reuters.

“It openly violates ​the Laws of the Game and the principle that refereeing decisions are final. In the face of this administrative robbery, the FSF refuses fatality,” he said.

The FRMF said at the time of the AFCON final result overturn that it “welcomes a ruling that upholds respect for rules that are necessary for the proper functioning of international competition”.

Senegal initially won the AFCON final 1-0 in extra time on January 18, before CAF announced 57 days later that its appeal board had declared Morocco 3-0 winners instead.

Senegal had walked off the field in normal time to protest a refereeing decision, leading the FRMF to file an appeal. CAF’s board subsequently decided that Senegal had forfeited the game.

A day after that decision was publicised, Senegal said it would appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, while the Senegalese government called for an investigation into alleged corruption at CAF. CAS confirmed it had received Senegal’s appeal on Wednesday, but stressed no timeframe could be put on when it would reach a judgment.

Senegal’s protest came after referee Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo awarded Morocco a penalty in second-half stoppage time after being recommended a review by the video assistant referee. That was shortly after Senegal had seen a potential match-winning goal disallowed. Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw told his players to leave the pitch, leading to a delay of around 16 minutes, before Morocco’s Brahim Diaz missed his penalty with the first kick after the restart. Senegal won the match in extra time.