Senegal has pledged to challenge the Confederation of African Football’s decision to strip the country of its 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title, calling the ruling “the most grossly unfair administrative robbery” in the history of soccer.
At a press conference in Paris on Thursday, Abdoulaye Fall, President of the Senegalese Football Federation, emphasized the country’s determination to defend its players’ honor at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland. “In the face of this administrative robbery, the FSF refuses fatality. We will fight a moral and legal crusade,” Fall remarked.
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The decision by CAF’s appeals board followed Senegal walking off the pitch during the final in Rabat on January 18th to protest a penalty awarded to host nation Morocco. Senegal later returned to play and scored the only goal in extra time, winning the match 1-0. CAF subsequently ruled the team had forfeited the final, awarding Morocco a 3-0 default victory.
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Lawyer Seydou Diagne described the ruling as a betrayal and confirmed that a team of international lawyers from Senegal, France, Spain, and Switzerland would represent the country. “If CAS let this situation happen, the winner of the next World Cup could be decided within a lawyers’ firm,” Lawyer Diagne noted. Another member of the legal team, Serge Vittoz, highlighted procedural issues, observing that CAF’s disciplinary code requires all decisions to be reasoned, a requirement he said the appeals panel failed to meet.
Senegal, which has qualified for this year’s World Cup, is scheduled to play a friendly against Peru at the Stade de France on Saturday. Fall confirmed that the federation intends to present the Africa Cup trophy to its fans prior to the match.
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CAF President Patrice Motsepe maintained that “not a single country in Africa will be treated in a manner that is more preferential, or more advantageous, or more favorable than any other.” The CAS appeal could take months to reach a verdict, though Senegal’s legal team is requesting an expedited process.
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