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The decision to strip Senegal of the Africa Cup of Nations title must be “denounced”, according to a senior official at the Confederation of African Football.
Augustin Senghor, a Caf executive committee member and former head of the Senegalese Football Federation, told the BBC World Service that Senegal should “fight against injustice” after the continent’s governing body ruled on Tuesday that they had forfeited the final against Morocco having left the the pitch in protest.
Senegal players had returned to the dressing room in after Morocco were awarded a late penalty during January’s final in Rabat, actions that were described as “shameful”.
The spot-kick was eventually missed after Brahim Diaz’s “Panenka” effort sailed into the arms of Edouard Mendy, with Senegal then winning 1-0 in extra time.
However the tournament hosts have now been awarded a 3-0 victory, two months after the match, leading to fresh controversy.
“In a situation like this, we have to fight against injustice,” Senghor said, as reported by the BBC. “Football is fair play, football is played on the field, not in offices. What happened with Caf was unacceptable.
“When you see a committee taking such a decision in violation of our rules, in violation of the Fifa laws of the game, to take the trophy and give it to Morocco, I think it is something very abject. We have to denounce it.”
According to Afcon regulations, if a team “refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee”, they will be deemed the loser and their opponents will automatically be given a 3-0 win, as per Articles 82 and 84.
But the ruling has been met with widespread complaints.
The Senegalese Football Federation (SFF) said it would be taking the matter to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport, while the country’s government has called for an “independent international investigation into suspected corruption”.
Head coach Pape Thiaw was later suspended having led his players off the pitch, although only for matches in the next Afcon qualifiers, which start after the World Cup in June, for which both Morocco and Senegal have qualified.
Morocco, as newly-crowned champions, immediately welcomed the decision.
