03/28/26 12:11:00
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03/28 12:09 CDT Senegal parades Africa Cup trophy in Paris as it appeals CAF
decision to strip title
Senegal parades Africa Cup trophy in Paris as it appeals CAF decision to strip
title
PARIS (AP) --- Senegal players paraded the Africa Cup of Nations trophy in
front of thousands of fans on Saturday, despite the Confederation of African
Football's decision to strip the country of the title and award it to Morocco.
Ahead of a friendly match against Peru at Stade de France, Senegal players led
by captain Kalidou Koulibaly took to the pitch with the trophy as part of
pre-game celebrations.
The Senegalese Football Association had announced it would present the Africa
Cup trophy to its fans before the game in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.
Paris has a significant Senegalese community.
Earlier this week in the French capital, Senegalese FA president Abdoulaye Fall
said Senegal was the victim of " the most grossly unfair administrative
robbery" in the history of soccer and pledged that the country would defend its
players' "honor" at the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Senegal is challenging CAF's surprise ruling last week to strip the team of the
title won in a chaotic final in January and give it to host nation Morocco.
Senegal's legal team said the country still considers itself the champion of
Africa. The CAF 's appeals board ruled that Senegal is "declared to have
forfeited the final" and its 1-0 win in extra time became a 3-0 default win for
Morocco. The rationale was that Senegal players led by their coach had left the
field in protest when Morocco was awarded a penalty, leading to a 15-minute
stoppage.
Senegal's appeal to be reinstated as champion was registered this week by CAS,
which set no timetable for a likely long process toward a verdict. The appeal
was promised by the Senegalese government, which also called for an
international investigation "into suspected corruption" within CAF.
An appeal to CAS can typically take months to schedule a hearing then weeks or
months more to announce a verdict. Senegal's lawyers, however, will ask CAS to
open an expedited procedure and hope the Moroccan federation and the CAF agree
so that the case can be dealt with within two months.
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