Published March 29, 2026
Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe says he “respects” the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) decision on Senegal’s appeal against being stripped of its African Cup of Nations (AFCON) title.
“I respect and implement the decision of CAS. My personal opinion on this matter is irrelevant,” Motsepe told reporters in Cairo on Sunday.
Senegal’s appeal comes after the CAF appeals body overturned Senegal’s 1-0 win over hosts Morocco in last month’s AFCON final.
Many Senegalese players, head coach Pape Thiau and staff left the pitch in Rabat after Morocco were awarded a stoppage-time penalty.
After his return, Morocco’s Brahim Dias missed a penalty. Senegal’s Pape Gueye then scored a goal in extra time to win the championship match.
The CAF Disciplinary Committee later fined various individuals from both teams, but did not change the outcome.
Morocco then appealed and won 3-0. Mr Motsepe stressed that the appeals panel is made up of independent judges and lawyers.
When Senegal faced Peru in a 2026 World Cup prelude in Paris on Saturday, they paraded around with the Nations Cup trophy.
Senegal then played in the uniform of two stars. One was their first Nations Cup win in 2022, and the other was a disputed victory in February.
Motsepe will visit Senegal and Morocco for an undisclosed date, stressing the importance of “working together to grow African football” and saying CAF will implement changes and improvements to its rules and regulations to ensure the farce is not repeated.
The CAF president said the changes would strengthen trust and confidence in referees, VAR operators and the judiciary, but did not go into specific details.
In a statement, CAF said it was “implementing changes and improvements to laws and regulations that will strengthen[African people’s]trust and confidence in referees, VAR operators and judicial institutions.”
“These changes and improvements to laws and regulations will also ensure that the incident that occurred at the finals never happens again.”
Controversial figure Belon Mosengo-Omba resigns from CAF
Motsepe later announced that Nigerian-born CAF official Samson Adamu would become interim general secretary of the Cairo-based organization, replacing Beron Mosengo-Omba, who has retired.
Mosengo-Omba, a former FIFA official born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has reached the retirement age of 66 as a CAF official. He resigned after repeated calls for his removal at a time of turmoil in the game on the continent.
Recent criticism of his continued holding on as general secretary well beyond his 63-year-old retirement age has been mounting, mainly on social media, but also from members of the CAF executive committee.
“After more than 30 years of an international professional career dedicated to promoting the ideal of football that brings people together, educates and creates opportunities for hope, I have decided to step down as CAF Secretary-General to focus on more personal projects,” Motsengo-Omba said in a statement.
“Now that I have dispelled the suspicions that some people have gone to great lengths to place on me, I can retire with peace of mind and no restrictions, and CAF will be more prosperous than ever,” he added.
Motsengo-Omba has been a divisive figure within CAF and has been accused by some employees of creating a toxic atmosphere in the workplace, but an investigation following employee complaints cleared him of any wrongdoing.
The 66-year-old is a Congolese-born Swiss citizen and former FIFA official who was a university friend of FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Although the statement said he was retiring, Motsengo-Omba’s statement was denied by Motsepe.
“He said he was asked by the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo to help develop football in that country,” Motsepe said.
