Senegal have been stripped of the Africa Cup of Nations title after an unprecedented ruling by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) appeal board. The board declared that Senegal forfeited the final against Morocco, which was held in Rabat in January, following a walkout protest by the team. The result has been recorded as a 3-0 win for Morocco.
The incident occurred when Senegal's head coach, Pape Thiaw, and some players left the pitch for 15 minutes in protest at a penalty awarded to Morocco. They returned after captain Sadio Mané implored them to, but the subsequent spot-kick was saved, taking the match to extra time, where Pape Gueye scored the winner. Initially, Caf imposed fines exceeding $1 million and bans on players and officials from both sides but left the result unchanged.
However, the appeal board ruled that Senegal infringed article 82 of the Afcon regulations, and under article 84, the team is declared to have forfeited the final. Senegal are expected to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Defender Moussa Niakhaté, who played in the final, criticised the decision on Instagram, posting a picture with the trophy and writing, 'Come and get them. They are crazy.'
Almost a million supporters had lined the streets of Dakar to celebrate Senegal's second Afcon title. Morocco, who had not won the competition since 1976 and were heavy favourites as hosts, welcomed the decision. The Moroccan football federation stated that its approach was solely to request the application of regulations, not to challenge sporting performance.
