Senegal’s lawyer said CAF’s decision to award Morocco the AFCON title was “blatantly in violation of competition law”.
Published March 26, 2026
The head of Senegal’s governing body has vowed to launch a “campaign against” the Confederation of African Football (CAF)’s decision to strip the country of its African Cup of Nations title. The country’s legal team warned that the case could change the game forever and undermine the principle that referees’ decisions are final.
“This decision cannot even be considered a true sports justice verdict. It is too crude, too absurd, too unreasonable,” Juan de Dios Crespo Perez, a lawyer representing Senegal’s sentencing body, said at a press conference on Thursday.
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“This is a blatant violation of competition law and the principle that the referee’s decision is final.”
Abdoulaye Fall, president of the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF), said: “In the face of this administrative robbery, the FSF refuses to take lethal action. We will fight a moral and legal campaign.”
The FSF appealed the decision to overturn the result to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Wednesday.
Senegal were forfeited after leaving the pitch in protest at the decisive penalty awarded to Morocco in the final in Rabat on January 18. Senegal came back and scored a goal in extra time, winning the match 1-0.
Lawyer Seydou Diagne said Senegal had been “betrayed” and said he had assembled international lawyers from Switzerland, Spain, France and Senegal to prosecute the case.
Senegal’s legal team said that despite the CAF ruling, Senegal still considers itself Africa’s champion.
“If CAS lets this situation go, the winner of the next World Cup may be decided within the law firm,” Diagne said.
Senegal, who have qualified for this year’s World Cup, will play Peru in a friendly in Paris on Saturday.
Serge Witts, a member of a six-lawyer legal team in Paris, said he wants CAS to speed up the process.
“These processes typically take nine to 12 months, but we would like to move faster, but that would require all parties to agree,” Witts said.
Asked if the trophy would be presented to fans at the Stade de France on Saturday, Fall replied: “See you at the Stade de France on March 28th.”
Vitos claimed that the CAF appeals committee’s decision to overturn the final result was not explained.
“For it to be valid, the decision must be explained. It has not been explained. Therefore, Senegal is still the champion of Africa,” Vitts said.
CAF South Africa president Patrice Motsepe insisted last week that “no African country will be favored, favored or favored over any other country.”
Appeals to CAS typically take months to schedule a hearing and then weeks or even months to announce a verdict.
