Senegal have lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport following the decision to overturn the country’s Africa Cup of Nations victory against Morocco, but a final decision is expected to take some time.
Last week an appeal board of the Confederation of African Football controversially awarded the 2026 title to Morocco, cancelling Senegal’s 1-0 win and imposing a 3-0 defeat having determined they had forfeited the match after briefly leaving the field in protest at a disputed penalty awarded to the tournament hosts in stoppage time.
CAF appeal judges took the title from Senegal two months after the final in Rabat as punishment for a 15-minute walkoff by players to protest a penalty being awarded to Morocco in the last minute of normal time. The referee restarted the game after the Senegal team returned, and the Morocco penalty was then saved. Senegal scored in extra time to beat the host nation 1-0.
CAS confirmed the formal process had now been instigated by the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF), which seeks to set aside the CAF decision and declare them the winners as well as requesting an immediate suspension of the time limit set to submit an appeal brief until the CAF decision is notified “with full grounds.”
While an arbitral panel will be appointed to consider the matter, the complex procedural rules on how long it takes for legal arguments to be submitted by both sides, the CAS said it was “not possible to anticipate a procedural timeline and to indicate when a hearing will be scheduled.”
CAS director general Matthieu Reeb said in a statement: “CAS is perfectly equipped to resolve this type of dispute, with the assistance of expert and independent arbitrators.
“We understand that teams and fans are eager to know the final decision, and we will ensure that arbitration proceedings are conducted as swiftly as possible, while respecting the right of all parties to a fair hearing.”
Information from AP and PA was used in this report.
