Court of Arbitration for Sport to Hear Senegal’s Appeal Over Africa Cup of Nations Title

The dispute over which country should be recognized as the winner of the Africa Cup of Nations is now headed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where Senegal will challenge the decision that removed its title and gave it to tournament host Morocco. Reuters reported that a CAS panel in Lausanne will hear from Senegal, Morocco and the Confederation of African Football. Senegal wants to be restored as champion after CAF's Appeal Board reversed its 1-0 win in the final. In the original final in Rabat, Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 after extra time. CAF later annulled that outcome, finding that Senegal had forfeited the game because its players left the field without permission from the referee. The episode took place near the end of regulation after a penalty was called against Senegal. The players exited the pitch for roughly 14 minutes; some went into the dressing room in protest, and the team eventually returned. Morocco did not score from the penalty, and the contest proceeded to extra time, when Senegal netted the decisive goal. Two months afterward, CAF's Appeal Board sided with Morocco, altered the score to a 3-0 win for the hosts and named Morocco champion. Senegal filed its CAS appeal on March 25 and is asking the tribunal to set aside CAF's ruling. "After the hearing, the panel will start its deliberations. At this stage, CAS cannot state when a final decision will be rendered but it will not be on the date of the hearing," CAS said in a statement. The hearing will be held in private before a three-person panel chaired by Professor Gerald Simon, a French civil rights specialist. The other members are Luigi Fumagalli, an Italian professor of international law, and Ulrich Haas, a lawyer and professor based in Germany. A central question for the panel is how to read CAF's competition regulations. The rules say a team that "refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee" is deemed the loser and eliminated from the tournament. Senegal is expected to contend that the provision must be applied narrowly and that its brief exit from the field should not be treated as abandoning the match. Morocco is expected to counter that any team leaving without the referee's permission must lose and be eliminated, regardless of whether the departure was temporary. CAS has repeated that no final decision will be issued on the hearing date; the ruling will come later.