Senegal government accuses CAF of ‘corruption’ after AFCON triumph overturned

The Senegalese government has accused African football’s governing body of “corruption” after the country was stripped of the continental title they won in January.

An appeal board of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has taken the Africa Cup of Nations crown from Senegal and awarded it to Morocco, overturning Senegal’s 1-0 win and imposing a 3-0 defeat instead.

The appeal board determined Senegal had forfeited the match when they left the field in protest at a disputed penalty awarded to Morocco deep in stoppage time.

The walk-off led to a lengthy delay, and, when the game was belatedly restarted, Brahim Diaz saw his spot-kick saved by Edouard Mendy. Pape Gueye went on to score the winning goal for Senegal in extra time.

Senegal’s football federation has already indicated it intends to appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and the country’s government has now waded in.

It said in a post on X: “(Senegal) requests the opening of an independent international investigation into suspicions of corruption within the CAF’s governing bodies.”

The post described the decision to overturn the original result as “unprecedented” and added: “It proceeds from a manifestly incorrect reading of the rules, leading to a grossly illegal and profoundly unjust decision.”

The CAF has been contacted for comment.

The Moroccan federation is expected to make a further statement on Wednesday, having said on Tuesday night: “The federation wishes to recall that its approach has never been intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams participating in this competition, but solely to request the application of the competition’s regulations.”

Bookmakers Paddy Power and BOYLE Sports said they would now pay out to customers who had backed Morocco to win the match.

Everton’s Idrissa Gueye, part of Senegal’s victorious squad, posted in an Instagram story: “Titles, trophies, medals… all of this is fleeting. What really counts is that each each supporter can go home and be reunited with their family.

“The Senegalese people have shown what they are: dignified in victory, dignified in adversity. We know what we experienced that evening in Rabat. And that, no-one can take away from us.”