In an unprecedented development in the world of football, Senegal, which won the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, has been stripped of the title following a recent court ruling that has favoured Morocco's claim.
The North African nation, which lost the AFCON final 1-0 in January, has been stunningly awarded the title after the judges overturned Senegal's victory.
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This comes directly from the Confederation of African Football, which said its appeals board ruled that Senegal is “declared to have forfeited the final” and therefore, the 1-0 win in the final becomes a 3-0 default win for the host nation, Morocco.
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In the January 18 final in Rabat, chaos had ensued when Senegal players, led by coach Pape Thiaw, left the pitch in protest when Morocco were awarded a penalty that would have decided the match. The Senegal players left the field for about 15 minutes before former Liverpool star Sadio Mane convinced his team to come back out on the pitch.
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To Senegal's fortunes, the subsequent penalty attempt from Brahim Diaz was saved by goalkeeper Eduardo Mendy. In extra time, Senegal hit back with a goal from Pape Gueye that was enough to decide the game. But before the penalty incident, tension had flared after Senegal were disallowed a goal that would have sealed the victory.
Shortly after the final, in an initial hearing, CAF imposed fines amounting to $1 million as well as bans for Senegal and Morocco players and officials. However, the result was left untouched.
However, CAF has now cited article 82 of the tournament regulations to justify the verdict enforced on appeal. “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," the rule states.
This is not the end of the road for Senegal, though. The case could go to a higher authority following appeals, with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) likely to take up the matter.
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