Senegal Hits Back: Defiant Lions Vow to Overturn CAF’s “Unjust” AFCON Ruling

The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) has launched a scathing attack on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) following the revocation of their AFCON title.

Branding the decision a “grave injustice,” the FSF confirmed it will escalate the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

This defiance follows a bombshell Tuesday ruling by the CAF Appeal Board, which erased the original 2025 final result and handed Morocco a 3-0 forfeit victory.

This followed Senegal’s brief walk-off during the match, led by head coach Pape Thiaw and involving several players, who protested a controversial late penalty given to the hosts.

The incident occurred in stoppage time when the referee, after consulting VAR, awarded Morocco a spot-kick. Senegal’s players left the pitch for approximately 15 minutes in objection.

Play eventually resumed, with Brahim Díaz’s penalty saved by the goalkeeper, before the game proceeded to extra time where Pape Gueye netted what was initially the decisive goal for Senegal’s 1-0 triumph.

Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, the secretary general of the Senegalese FA, expressed outrage in comments to the national broadcaster Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise, stating: “This is a travesty; this decision is based on absolutely nothing. It has no legal foundation.”

He added that the federation’s president would contact legal experts to pursue the matter further.

“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.”

Sow went on to call the ruling a broader embarrassment for the continent, declaring: “We will not back down. Senegalese people should have no doubt. The truth is on Senegal’s side, the law is on Senegal’s side.”

Earlier disciplinary measures by CAF had included substantial fines exceeding $1 million and suspensions for players and officials from both teams, while preserving the on-field result.

However, the appeal board’s latest verdict has dramatically altered that outcome.

The Senegalese FA issued a formal statement denouncing the move as unfair, without precedent, and damaging to the reputation of African football, describing it as one that “casts a shadow over African football.”