Senegal vows to fight ‘unfair administrative robberies’ after CAF stripped AFCON title

Senegal was the victim of an «extremely unfair administrative robbery» when the country was stripped of its Africa Cup of Nations title, Senegalese Football Federation president Abdoulaye Fall said on Thursday.

At a press conference in Paris, Fall said Senegal will fight to defend its «honor» at the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Lawyer Seydou Diagne said Senegal has suffered “betrayal” and brought together international lawyers from Switzerland, Spain, France and Senegal to argue the case.

The Senegalese FA is challenging a surprise ruling by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) last week to strip Senegal of the title it won in a chaotic final in January and award it to hosts Morocco.

Senegal’s legal team said the country still considers itself Africa’s champion despite the CAF ruling.

“If CAS allowed this situation to happen, the winner of the next World Cup could be decided within a law firm,” Diagne said.

Senegal are in France this week to play a friendly against Peru at the Stade de France on Saturday as part of their World Cup preparations.

Senegal’s call to be reinstated as Africa Cup of Nations champions was registered on Wednesday by CAS, which did not set a timetable for what is likely to be a long process towards a verdict.

The call was agreed by the Senegalese government, which also called for an international investigation “into suspected corruption” within the CAF.

CAS said the Senegalese federation has also requested additional time to file an appeal as CAF has not yet provided detailed written reasons to explain its decision.

CAF appeal judges took the title from Senegal two months after the final in Rabat as punishment for players who walked out in protest and caused a 15-minute stoppage after Morocco were awarded a penalty that would have decided the title with the final kick.

When Senegal returned to the field and play resumed, Morocco’s penalty was saved, sending the match into extra time. Senegal scored the only goal in extra time, beating the host country 1–0.

According to football laws, the referee’s decision on the field of play is final.

However, the CAF judges cited a tournament rule that states that any team refusing to play “shall be permanently eliminated from the current competition.”

The verdict in Morocco’s appeal against CAF disciplinary rulings in January fueled the perception that the country, which co-hosts the 2030 World Cup, has increasing influence in international football politics s4tg2ed.

CAF South African President Patrice Motsepe last week stressed that “no country in Africa will be treated in a manner that is more preferential, advantageous or beneficial than any other country”.

An appeal to CAS can typically take months before a hearing is scheduled, and then weeks or months longer before a judgment is announced.

Published on March 26, 2026