Hakimi: CAF Declares Morocco AFCON Champions After Senegal Ruled To Have Abandoned Final
hakimi — The Confederation of African Football’s Appeal Board has declared Morocco the champion of the Africa Cup of Nations after ruling that Senegal lost the final by inattendance and recording the result as a 3-0 victory for Morocco.
Decision Details and Rule Application
The Appeal Board found the protest lodged by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation admissible and upheld it, concluding that the Senegalese team breached the tournament regulations by leaving the field before the match was completed. The board applied Articles 82 and 84 of the competition regulations, which state that a team that refuses to play or abandons the field without the referee’s permission will be considered the loser of the match.
As a result, the Appeal Board annulled the earlier decision of the CAF Disciplinary Committee and formally recorded the final as a 3-0 victory for Morocco. The board also ruled that the conduct of the Senegal national team fell within the scope of the cited articles, and dismissed other motions submitted in the appeal process.
Alongside the sporting ruling, the Appeal Board modified disciplinary measures for individuals and federations. The suspension originally imposed on a Moroccan player was reduced to two matches, with one match suspended, and an earlier fine of 100, 000 dollars against that player was canceled. The board imposed a fine of 50, 000 euros on the Moroccan federation for incidents involving ball attendants, and confirmed a 100, 000-dollar sanction related to interference around a VAR review.
Match Events and Aftermath — Hakimi
On the field, the final had seen a late penalty awarded to the host nation in stoppage time. Players from Senegal walked off the pitch in protest of the decision, although their captain urged teammates to return so the penalty could be taken. The Moroccan penalty taker missed, and the match proceeded to extra time, where Senegal scored and finished with a 1-0 victory on the scoreboard at the final whistle.
The Appeal Board’s ruling reverses that on-field outcome and will be recorded in the tournament’s official results as a forfeit in favor of Morocco. The decision arrives months after the match and changes the official record of the competition, while also altering sanctions that had been previously announced.
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