Senegal to appeal after CAF awards AFCON title to Morocco

Senegal will appeal a decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to strip them of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and award it to Morocco, following a controversial final held in Rabat on January 18.

CAF ruled that Senegal forfeited the match after several players briefly walked off the pitch, and the result was "officially recorded as 3-0" in favor of Morocco. 

The CAF Appeals Committee justified its decision by applying Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON Regulations, which state that if a team "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."

Players from Senegal walked off in protest after the hosts were awarded a penalty late in second-half stoppage time. Senegal won the match 1-0 after extra time, with captain Sadio Mane leading efforts to bring teammates back onto the pitch after the protest. Team mate Pape Gueye later scored the decisive goal.

The decision followed an appeal by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, which said it sought only the enforcement of competition rules.

Senegal’s football federation rejected the decision and said it will challenge it at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. "The Senegalese Football Federation condemns this unjust, unprecedented and unacceptable decision, which brings African football into disrepute," the federation said in a statement.

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation said in a statement its appeal "was never intended to contest the sporting performance of the teams participating in this competition, but solely to request the application of the competition regulations".

"The Federation reaffirms its commitment to respecting the rules, to the clarity of the competitive framework, and to the stability of African competitions," the statement added.