The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) has protested the “unfair, unprecedented, and unacceptable decision” to deprive its squad of the Africa Cup of Nations championship and give it to host country Morocco two months after the final.
The Confederation of African Football’s appeals tribunal concluded on Tuesday that Senegal “forfeited the final” by walking off the field, resulting in Morocco’s 3-0 default triumph.
The FSF stated that the ruling “discredits African football,” and that it will file an appeal “as soon as possible” to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, a process that generally takes a year to complete.
“The FSF reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the values of integrity and sporting justice and will keep the public informed of developments in this matter,” the federation said in a statement.
The CAF cited article 82 of tournament regulations for its marquee event to justify the verdict enforced on appeal, though not at the first hearing.
It states “if, for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report for a match, or refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorization of the referee, it shall be considered loser and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition.”
