Senegal's Appeal Against CAF Decision to Be Heard by TAS
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) announced on Friday that it will review the appeal filed by the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) regarding the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) decision to award the title of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations to Morocco. The hearing is set for October 8, 2026.
According to a statement from TAS, the FSF's appeal, which was registered on March 25, 2026, seeks to overturn the CAF's ruling that declared Senegal the loser of the final match due to abandonment, awarding Morocco a 3-0 victory instead. The appeal requests that TAS declare Senegal as the rightful champions of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The controversy dates back to January when Senegal triumphed over Morocco with a score of 1-0 in a tumultuous final. During the match, several Senegalese players left the field for approximately fifteen minutes after the referee awarded a penalty to Morocco in stoppage time, although the Moroccan team ultimately failed to convert the penalty.
On March 17, the CAF's appeals jury ruled that Senegal had abandoned the pitch during the final, leading to the controversial 3-0 ruling in favor of Morocco. However, TAS's statement clarified that the involved parties have not agreed to expedite the process, which the FSF had hoped for when filing its appeal.
Consequently, TAS indicated that it is unable to specify when a decision will be made, emphasizing that the ruling will not be announced on the same day as the hearing. Amidst the proceedings, misleading information circulated widely on social media, suggesting that TAS had issued a ruling in favor of Senegal, allegedly confirming their victory and restoring their title. TAS underscored the importance of relying only on official communications from its channels, stating that any announcement regarding this case would be published on its official website and that the supposed statement circulating online was false, containing several significant procedural inconsistencies.
As reported by si.com.
