Morocco have been declared official winners of the Africa Cup of Nations, and Senegal are stripped of their title, a decision that has shaken the world of football and that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Tuesday, to the shock of millions. CAF's Appeal Board ruled out that Senegal forfeited the game when they walked off the pitch in protest of a referee decision, a penalty in the last minutes of the match.
After 14 minutes, the players returned. Morocco international Brahim Díaz from Real Madrid shot the penalty, missed it with a famous "panenka" shot, the match went to overtime and later Senegal won the match with a goal by Pepe Gueye, ending 1-0.
After the result was overturned, Morocco was declared winners 3-0.
AFCON regulations Articles 82 and 84 used to strip Senegal from the title
The Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF) appealed that Senegal National Team violated articles 82 and 84 of the Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Article 82 states that "If, for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report for a match, or refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered looser and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition. The same shall apply for the teams previously disqualified by decision of CAF."
Article 84 reads that "The team which contravenes the provisions of articles 82 and 83 shall be eliminated for good from the competition. This team will lose its match by 3-0 unless the opponent has scored a more advantageous result at the time when the match was interrupted, in this case this score will be maintained. The Organising Committee may adopt further measures".
CAF's Board of Appeal accepted the appeal from Morocco and two months later from the match on January 18, said that "In application of Article 84 of the Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations, the Senegal team is declared to have forfeited the match, with the result recorded as 3-0 in favour of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF)".
Naturally, the Senegalese Football Federation has described this decision as "a travesty and based on absolutely nothing", without legal foundation. "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", said Seydou Sow, SFF Secretary General.