Senegal to take legal action as statement issued after AFCON title stripped
Senegal have vowed to take legal action after they had their 2026 AFCON victory stripped and handed to Morocco on Tuesday.
Morocco lost the final in their home city of Rabat 1-0 back in January, with Pape Gueye scoring a spectacular winner during extra-time, however, the winner was far from the main talking point of the match.
The decision to strip Senegal of the trophy comes after manager Pape Thiaw ordered his players off the pitch in the final moments of regulation time due to a controversial penalty decision.
The extended break was cut short by Sadio Mane, who managed to get his teammates to return after 15 minutes, with Morocco's star man Brahim Diaz missing the spot-kick sending the tie to extra-time.
Senegal to take legal action after AFCON overturned
Following the official statement confirming the overturned result from CAF, Senegal have responded with Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, secretary general of the Senegalese FA, claiming legal action will be taken.
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“This is a travesty; this decision is based on absolutely nothing, It has no legal foundation," he told Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise via The Guardian.
"The president of the federation will get in touch with the lawyers; we will engage with the appropriate authorities, and then we will go to the court of arbitration for sport, which will issue the final decision.”
He insisted that they will fight for justice and 'not back down', with a final message to the Senegalese people.
“We will not back down, the Senegalese people should have no doubt," he continued.
"The truth is on Senegal’s side, the law is on Senegal’s side.“
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An official statement from the Senegalese FA slammed the decision as 'unacceptable' also confirming the claims made by Sow on expected legal action.
It read: “This decision is unfair, unprecedented, unacceptable, and tarnishes the reputation of African football.
“The Federation will, at the earliest opportunity, initiate appeal proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.”
Both Senegal and Morocco had already had a number of their players handed bans and fines for the antics in Rabat following an initial hearing that left the result unaltered.
Despite the official ruling now having the result as a 3-0 Moroccan victory, Senegal captain Idrissa Gueye insisted some things can't be taken away in a message to his nation.
"We know what we experienced that night in Rabat, and that, no one will ever be able to take away from us, God willing," the Everton star wrote on Instagram.
Tom Jenkins