"CAS" Pledges to Issue a Decision on Africa Cup Winner Soon

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has pledged to rule swiftly on Senegal’s appeal after the country was stripped of its Africa Cup of Nations title, having heard arguments on Thursday and promising to issue its decision within days.

Senegal is challenging the African Football Confederation’s (CAF) decision to award Morocco the championship, despite Senegal’s 1-0 victory over the host nation after extra time in the final held in Rabat last January.

Senegal left the pitch for 14 minutes after a penalty was awarded against them in the final moments of regular time, with many players returning to the locker room in protest before the match resumed.

Morocco failed to convert the penalty, sending the match into extra time, where Senegal scored the winning goal to secure the victory.

However, Senegal was stripped of the title two months later after CAF’s Appeals Body ruled that Senegal had lost the match by abandoning the pitch, resulting in the score being annulled and Morocco awarded a 3-0 win.

Senegal promptly filed an appeal with CAS on March 25.

Matteo Ricci, CAS Director General, said: “I know the wait has been long for fans, several months after the final between Senegal and Morocco.”

He added: “The timeline and procedural steps were established in agreement with the parties involved in this case. Everyone was aware of the schedule, and our goal as the Court of Arbitration for Sport, as the supreme authority, is to issue a reasoned decision as soon as possible following today’s (Thursday) hearing.”

The long-running saga over this year’s Africa Cup of Nations champion will be resolved within days, although Ricci did not specify an exact date.

For his part, Senegal Football Federation Secretary-General Abdoulaye Sou, speaking outside the closed-door hearing, said: “What matters is the application of sports law and resolving the issue of this particular match, for the sake of dignity and for Africa.”