3 min readMar 19, 2026 03:48 PM IST
Patrice Motsepe, the president of the Confederation of African Football, defended CAF’s stance after it stripped Senegal of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title, even as the West African nation is all set to take the matter to sport’s highest court.
“The disciplinary board took one decision. The appeals board took a totally different position. Senegal is going to appeal, which is very important. We will respect whatever decision is taken at the highest level,” the CAF chief said.
Senegal’s football federation had a sharp response when they said the ruling was “unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable”, saying that it “brings discredit to African football”. They confirmed they will be taking their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.
The controversy centers around the shocking nature of the final match from January 18. The continental body’s Appeals Board found that the Lions of Teranga had forfeited their match after they briefly walked off the pitch when they protested late penalty given to Morocco. The game, initially won 1-0 after extra time, has now been recorded as a 3-0 victory for the North African side.
As per an AP report, the governing body’s Appeals Jury held that the team’s conduct — leaving the field without the referee’s permission, amounted to a breach of tournament regulations, warranting a forfeit.
Defending the process, the South African football administrator stressed that the organisation’s judicial arms function independently. “These are some of the most respected lawyers and judges on the continent,” he said. “They have integrity and a track record… the independence is reflected in the different decisions that were taken by the two bodies.”
The federation, however, argued that the Appeals Jury’s ruling was flawed. In its statement, it said the earlier disciplinary verdict had been annulled on procedural grounds, including the “right to be heard”, before concluding that Senegal had breached Articles 82 and 84 of the regulations.
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“For the defence of its rights and the interests of Senegalese football, the federation will initiate an appeal procedure before CAS,” it said, reiterating its commitment to “integrity and sporting justice”.
Amid suggestions of bias, particularly given Morocco’s growing stature in world football and its role as a 2030 World Cup co-host — the CAF president dismissed any notion of favouritism. “Not a single country in Africa will be treated in a manner that is more preferential, or more advantageous, or more favorable than any other country on the African continent,” he said.
He acknowledged, though, that the chaotic scenes during the final had hurt the governing body’s image. “What happened in that match undermines the good work done over many years to ensure integrity, respect and credibility,” he said. Calling it a “legacy issue”, he added: “There continue to be suspicions, and we deal with that consistently because it is critically important that supporters across Africa see our decisions as fair.”
With the reigning champions now set to approach CAS, the dispute is expected to move into a legal arena, with wider questions being raised over governance and trust in African football.
