Senegal's Lawyer Blasts Appeasals Panel: Morocco Not Crowned, The Shocking Details Unfold
26 March 2026
Sidiou Diani, one of the lawyers defending the Senegal Football Federation, revealed a surprise regarding the AFCON 2025 final crisis against Morocco.
The Confederation of African Football, CAF, announced last week that the Appeals Committee ruled Morocco the winner by a 3-0 score after Senegal's players walked off in protest of a controversial refereeing decision.
The Senegal team had actually won the match 1-0 after a dramatic late goal in extra time by Babi Gaye.
Senegal has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reclaim the African title.
The Moroccan side presented four demands. The committee accepted the first two, recognizing Senegal's walkout and awarding Morocco a 3-0 victory; the remaining two demands to strip the title and recover all prizes were rejected.
Diani stressed that the decision does not reflect true sports justice and criticized the process as lacking transparency during the March 17 hearing, vowing to pursue all legal avenues to defend Senegal's rights.
He added that with a team of Swiss, Spanish, French and Senegalese lawyers, the ruling is described as irrational and absurd, and that CAS proceedings are aimed at securing formal recognition of the perceived injustice against the Senegalese federation.
They will pursue all legal and regulatory channels to defend Senegal's rights, he said, insisting the decision cannot be considered a genuine sports justice ruling.
Morocco's two requests denied
In a Paris press conference, the lawyer explained that as of now there is no official ruling compelling Senegal to return the trophy or the medals.
The two accepted requests involved treating the Senegalese walkout as a reason for the Morocco 3-0 win; the two rejected requests sought to strip the title and recover all prizes.
A troubling breach of sports justice
Diani stressed the need for fairness across all sports bodies and said the CAF decision cannot be viewed as a real sports justice ruling.
He described the March 17 session as surprising and problematic, criticizing the lack of transparency in handling the Senegalese appeal.
What happens next
Diani and his team will press on with all legal avenues at CAS and beyond to defend Senegal's rights, insisting the CAF decision is irrational and whimsical.
Punchline 1: If football justice had a scope, maybe it would land the target—just after halftime and a few deflections.
Punchline 2: In football, timing is everything; justice apparently prefers to nap until the last whistle, so bring a coffee and a lawyer.
