CAF President Sends Message to Senegal After Appealing AFCON 2025 Saga at CAS
- CAF President Patrice Motsepe has sent a message to Senegal after they launched an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sports
- The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) appealed CAF's decision to strip the Teranga Lions of the AFCON title at CAS
- CAF stripped Senegal of the AFCON title after Morocco appealed against the Disciplinary Board's judgment in January
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CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe has sent a message to Senegal after they launched an appeal against the latest judgement by CAF at the Court of Arbitration for Sports.
CAF’s Appeal Board stripped Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title after Morocco appealed against the Disciplinary Board's initial verdict.
Source: Getty Images
Senegal won AFCON 2025 after defeating Morocco 1-0 in a chaotic final on January 18, 2026, at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
The match was tainted by a brief interruption after Senegalese players walked off the pitch on Pape Thiaw’s order to protest the referee's awarding Morocco a penalty.
Sadio Mane intervened and appealed to his teammates to return to the pitch and play, which they obliged. Brahim Diaz missed the penalty, and Pape Gueye scored minutes later.
CAF sanctioned Senegal and Morocco with fines and suspensions for the appropriate individuals. FSF accepted the sanctions, but Morocco appealed.
Morocco’s appeal reopened the case, and the Appeal Board stripped the Teranga Lions of the title and awarded a 3-0 walkover to the Atlas Lions.
CAF, despite these verdicts, dismissed Morocco’s request to withdraw the medals from Senegal players and rescind the trophy and prize money.
FSF immediately appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sports based in Lausanne, Switzerland to reverse CAF's ruling and uphold its status as the winner.
Motsepe sends message to Senegal
CAF held its executive meeting in Egypt on Sunday, March 29, 2026, after which President Dr Patrice Motsepe addressed a press conference.
He refrained from giving a personal opinion on the incident, describing it as irrelevant, but debunks the claims that he is in support of the decision.
“I may not express any opinions on whose case is right or whose case is wrong,” he said on CAF TV.
“I may say I was a bit surprised because the media said ‘the CAF president supports the decision’. I respect the decision, whether I agree or disagree. Whether I like it or not is irrelevant.
“The independence of the judicial bodies is something that we respect. My personal opinion is irrelevant, whether I agree with the decision or not.
He added that the case is before CAS and assured Senegal that CAF and its 54 members will respect whichever decision is taken by the highest decision-making body in sports.
Source: Getty Images
“What we want to say is that the matter is before CAS, which is the highest decision-making body in football in the world,” he added.
“We will respect and implement whatever decision is taken by CAS, but CAF has 54-member associations on the continent. We will continue to engage this issue, and we now have to put it to the side.”
FSF, despite Morocco’s agitations, ensured that the Teranga Lions paraded their trophy before the Senegalese diaspora audience in France before their 2-0 win over Peru.
Senegal sends message to CAF and Morocco
Legit.ng previously reported that Senegal sent a message to CAF that it will not return the AFCON 2025 trophy despite Morocco’s agitations.
FSF’s general secretary, Abdoulaye Sow, insisted that the federation had never thought about it and confirmed that they were confident of winning at CAS.
Source: Legit.ng
