Two months after the final whistle of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the appeals jury of the African Football Confederation (CAF) stripped Senegal of its title on Tuesday, March 17, and awarded it to Morocco, even though Morocco had lost (1-0) in extra time. The governing body justified its decision by referring to AFCON regulations, which state that if a team “refuses to play or leaves the pitch before the official end of the match without the referee’s permission, it will be considered to have lost and will be permanently eliminated from the ongoing competition.”
On January 18, several Senegalese players temporarily left the pitch to protest a referee’s decision. Shortly after disallowing a Senegal goal, the referee awarded Morocco a penalty in stoppage time of the second half, which Moroccan winger Brahim Diaz ultimately missed. Speaking to Le Monde, Claude Le Roy, the former coach of Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana and Togo, reflects on the CAF appeals jury’s decision.
Were you surprised by this ruling?
What bothers me most about this affair is that this decision once again undermines the competition, which is the pride of the continent. It damaged the image of African football. There are many people who, with a shrug, find it hard to take the continent seriously. That will only confirm their view, because now everyone is talking only about this final and not at all about what was otherwise a magnificent tournament.
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