️ The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) has instructed its lawyers to lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after the national team was stripped of its Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Tuesday reversed Senegal’s win, awarding the title to Morocco two months after the final. FSF President Abdoulaye Fall told a news conference: "Senegal will remain standing and will legitimately defend this victory on the field, which we acquired on the field with the talent of our players." He added: "We have given our lawyers a mandate to pursue this procedure at the level of the Court of Arbitration for Sport."

️ The continent’s showpiece football final, held in Rabat on January 18, descended into chaos when several Senegalese players walked off the pitch in protest after the hosts were awarded a penalty late in second-half stoppage time. Senegal’s players were coaxed back onto the pitch by captain Sadio Mane, but Morocco missed the penalty. Pape Gueye went on to score the goal in extra time that gave Senegal a 1-0 victory. However, CAF stated that, having studied an appeal by Morocco, "the Senegal national team is declared to have forfeited the match" and the result was "officially recorded as 3-0" in favour of Morocco.

️ The revocation of the win elicited a strong response from fans in Senegal, where authorities called for an "independent international investigation" into corruption. In a resolution issued by the federation’s executive committee and read at the news conference, the federation said it would "use all possible legal, institutional and jurisdictional means to assert its rights and restore sporting fairness." Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye appeared in his office in front of the Africa Cup of Nations trophy in a social media post on Wednesday, expressing his "outrage" at CAF’s decision.

️ The Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), meanwhile, has said the decision "upholds the rules and ensures the stability necessary for the smooth running of international competitions." CAF President Patrice Motsepe admitted that African football remains plagued by trust issues and questions over its integrity after Senegal was stripped of the AFCON title. He did, however, defend the decision of his organisation’s Appeal Board to award the title to Morocco after upholding their protest against the outcome of the final.

️ Motsepe said: "I previously expressed my extreme disappointment with the incidents that took place at the final. It undermines the good work that CAF has done over many, many years to ensure that there’s integrity, there’s respect, there’s ethics, there’s governance, as well as the credibility of the results of our football matches. We are still dealing with suspicion and mistrust. It’s a legacy issue." He highlighted that both of CAF’s disciplinary and appeal boards were independent entities, made up of legal practitioners chosen with the help of member associations, but Senegal’s government called for an independent international investigation of the decision, alleging corruption within CAF.

Source: www.aljazeera.com