SENEGAL football fans Wednesday slammed the decision to strip the country of its Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and give it to Morocco, calling the move a “disgrace for Africa” as their country demands an investigation.
Gora Ndiaye, a resident of Dakar who works as a driver, told AFP he felt like he had “been hit over the head” when he heard the news on the radio.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) sensationally stripped Senegal of their title late Tuesday, citing regulations about leaving the field, which players did near the end of the final two months ago.
“If this law was applicable, it should have been applied immediately, and the cup should have been awarded to the Moroccans,” Ndiaye said, calling the move “a disgrace for Africa”.
With the news ricocheting across social media and the airwaves Wednesday, fans are now waiting for the results of a promised appeal by their country’s football authorities.
Senegal’s government additionally called for “an independent international investigation into suspected corruption within the CAF’s governing bodies”.
Several Senegalese players walked off the pitch in protest during the final in Rabat on January 18 when the hosts were awarded a penalty late in second-half stoppage time.
After Senegal’s players were coaxed back onto the pitch by captain Sadio Mane, Morocco missed the penalty. Pape Gueye then scored in extra time to give Senegal a 1-0 victory.
CAF said that having studied an appeal by Morocco, “the Senegal national team is declared to have forfeited the match”, and the result was “officially recorded as 3-0” in favour of Morocco.
“I started by laughing and being surprised at the same time, because it really shocked me that two months later they took away our victory,” Assietou Diallo, a 25-year-old accounting assistant, told AFP from downtown Dakar.
The Senegalese press were unanimous, with headlines such as “Big Continental Farce”, “Joke of the Century” and “Unprecedented Scandal”.
Senegal’s football authorities said they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the next 48 hours, condemning what they said was an “unjust, unprecedented and unacceptable decision”.
Senegal defender Moussa Niakhate posted a photo on Instagram of himself holding the Africa Cup and wearing a medal, with the comment, “Come and get them! They’re crazy!”
Senegal fans maintain that even if the team is stripped of their trophy, they are still the true victor in the eyes of spectators.
“We played and we won,” Senegal supporter Khola Diouf told AFP from Dakar, pointing to Morocco’s missed penalty in the final moments of the game, adding that “the whole world is witnessing and knows that Senegal deserves the cup”.
The trophy, said Ndiaye the driver, “is an object” and even “if we give it to the Moroccans, you have to know that Senegal beat them on the field”.
In Rabat, where the match was played, fans were decidedly in favour even if less emotional, as they prepared their final shopping ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, marking the end of Ramadan.
“Everyone is happy with this outcome”, Mohamed Amine Boujdaini, a 53-year-old lawyer, told AFP, adding “the cup returns to its rightful home”.
Omar Haryate, a 70-year-old retiree, meanwhile said “justice has been served”.
The CAF Appeals Committee justified its decision by applying Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON Regulations. They state that if a team “refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered (loser) and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition”.
The articles add the team contravening the regulations “will lose its match by 3-0”.