Afcon 2025: Senegal government calls for investigation into Caf after Morocco awarded title
In its decision to award the title to Morocco, Caf also “partially approved” an appeal against an incident involving ball retrievers in the final and reduced the Moroccan Football Federation’s fine for the incident.
In the pouring rain, Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy regularly dried his gloves, but the ballboys repeatedly tried to throw in the towel.
At one point, Senegal’s reserve goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf was tackled to the ground and dragged across the ground by three ball boys as he tried to intervene.
The cafe also reduced the fines given to fans who point lasers at players on the field.
Caf’s former head of discipline, Raymond Hack, has questioned the decisions taken by African football’s governing body and suggested there was a perception of “political interference” as the “president of the Moroccan Football Federation”. [Fouzi Lekjaa] He is the first vice president of the Café”.
“The circus continues,” Hack told the BBC World Service.
“A lot depends on the referee’s written report, but the fact that the referee allowed the game to continue and went to extra time gives the impression that he was satisfied that the game would continue.
“He is the only one who can tell the end of the game. Not the officials, not the administrative authorities, only the referee.
“Otherwise, you’re going to end up with a worldwide situation where when someone disagrees with a decision, they’re going to appeal or go to court or something ridiculous like that.
“The game must be won on the field, not in the boardroom.”
Hack, a lawyer and FIFA disciplinary board member, said that Moroccan players should inform the referee that they played under protest if they want to object to the result.
He also said it could take up to six months for Cas to rule on Senegal’s appeal.
Moroccan journalist Jalal Bounar told Newsday that Caf’s decision was met with “great excitement and joy throughout the country.”
“Morocco appealed the decision to the African football confederation because they believed Senegal had breached the rules during the match, and so the Moroccans came out to celebrate,” he said.
“It won’t be the end of the world if they give it to Senegal. We will accept it because we are happy to get to the final.”
But North African journalist Maher Mezahi said such a feeling was unprecedented across the continent.
“The rest of Africa seems to be outraged by this because once again the Confederation of African Football seems to have almost disgraced the sport,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Mezahi referred to Caf’s decision to ban Togo from two African Cups of Nations for withdrawing from the competition in 2010 following an armed attack on the team bus in Angola two days before the tournament.
Referring to Caf’s decision on the 2025 final, he said: “Unfortunately, they have made a habit of ultimately deciding such decisions in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, whether it is the disciplinary committee or the appeal committee, but this makes the whole thing look very amateurish.”
