Senegal allowed to appeal stripping of AFCON title

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has confirmed that it has registered the appeal filed by the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) against the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and award it to Morocco by administrative decision.

The appeal came after the final on January 18, which saw Senegal’s players temporarily walk off the pitch in protest against the referee’s decision to award a penalty to Morocco after consulting VAR. They returned 14 minutes later, completed the match, and went on to win 1-0 and claim the title.

Last week, CAF decided to strip Senegal of the title and award it to Morocco with a 3-0 administrative loss. CAF stated that the decision was based on regulations that penalise a team’s withdrawal from the field of play during a match, arguing that this action resulted in Senegal “losing the right to the title.”

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued a statement, as reported by AFP, saying:

The Senegalese Football Federation’s appeal seeks to overturn the CAF decision and reinstate the title to the rightful winner of the tournament. The Federation also requests a stay of the deadline for submitting the appeal until it has been notified of the full decision and its reasoning.

The court explained that an arbitration panel will be appointed to review the case, after which a timetable for legal proceedings between the parties will be established.

Featured image via the Canary