Current footballers across the continent and former players have slammed the Confederation of African Football’s (Caf) decision to award Morocco the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) title by disqualifying Senegal, saying this is an embarrassment for the continent.
Caf confirmed its ruling in favour of Morocco on Tuesday, which saw Senegal being stripped of their title by the CAF Appeal Board for leaving the pitch during their Afcon final with Morocco in January, declaring Senegal had forfeited the match .
Senegal triumphed 1-0 in extra time after controversially exiting the field in protest after hosts Morocco were awarded a contentious stoppage-time penalty, delaying the game for more than 15 minutes.
Senegal player Sadio Mane said this was an embarrassment for football across the whole continent. “What has happened here goes too far. This is not the football we fight for, nor the Africa we believe in,” he said on Instagram
“There is too much corruption in our sport and that is killing the passion of millions of fans across the continent. The players give their all on the pitch, but decisions off the pitch determine the outcome of matches and titles.”
Although Afcon rules state walking off or refusing to play for a prolonged period are grounds for elimination, the decision to strip Senegal of the Afcon title two months after their trophy lift is a bad look for Caf
— Ben Jacobs, sports commentator
Chelsea legend Didier Drogba said: “Things like this only happen in Africa. I’m not sure this would happen in the Euros. It’s a disgrace to Africa and football. A country like this shouldn’t be allowed to host a football tournament again, Senegal is the real winner we all know.”
Former Senegal and Ghana head coach Claude le Roy also slammed Caf’s decision to strip the Lions of Teranga.
“I couldn’t have imagined for a second that CAF could go so far down this path of absurdity,” Le Roy told L’Equipe newspaper.
“When you see how Caf is run by Mr [Patrice] Motsepe, who is a vassal of Gianni Infantino and who absolutely wanted to give this cup to Morocco from the very beginning. Morocco had a great Afcon and deserved to win the tournament, but in the final, Senegal was the better team.”
Sports commentator Ben Jacobs said the decision to strip Senegal of their title two months after their trophy success was a bad look for Caf. “Although Afcon rules state walking off or refusing to play for a prolonged period are grounds for elimination, the decision to strip Senegal of the Afcon title two months after their trophy lift is a bad look for Caf.”
Nigel Reo Coker, a former West Ham player, said: “There has always been a stigma against the continent Africa and African football. We had conversations about Afcon not being taken seriously for many years.
“There are top managers who have made comments about Afcon and [it] being a burden to them.”
Sowetan
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