Friday, March, 20 2026 - The president of African football’s governing body has defended its “integrity and impartiality” after Senegal’s government called for an international investigation into “suspected corruption” at the organization after it stripped the country of its Africa Cup of Nations title.
Patrice Motsepe, the president of the Confederation of
African Football (CAF), explained the decision made by its appeals board
on Tuesday, March 16, that ruled Senegal had forfeited the final in
January by walking off the field, turning its 1-0 win in extra time into a 3-0
default win for host nation Morocco.
“The CAF disciplinary board took one decision. The CAF
appeals board took a totally different position. And I’m told that Senegal is
going to appeal, which is very important,” Motsepe said in a video published on
the CAF website. “We will adhere and respect the decision that’s taken at the
highest level.”
Motsepe said that CAF’s disciplinary and appeals board
members are chosen from names proposed by each of its 54 member associations.
“If you look at the composition of those bodies, they
reflect some of the most respected lawyers and judges on the continent,” he
said. “These are people who have integrity and have a track record... the
independence is reflected by the decisions that were taken by the two bodies.”
In January, CAF’s disciplinary board-imposed fines of more
than $1 million against the Senegalese and Moroccan federations together. It
issued suspensions against the Senegal coach and several players. But it did
not interfere with the outcome of the final.
CAF’s appeals board on Tuesday ruled that Senegal forfeited
the January 18 final by leaving the field of play without the referee’s authorization,
and that Morocco should consequently be awarded a 3-0 win.
“What happened in that final match is it undermines the good
work that CAF has done over many, many years to ensure that there’s integrity,
that there is respect, that there’s ethics, that there’s governance, as well as
credibility in the results of our football matches,” said Motsepe, who said the
incidents in the final had exposed the work CAF was doing to address suspicion
and distrust.
“It’s a legacy issue. When I became president, one of the
major concerns was the impartiality, the independence, and the respect of
referees and match commissioners, and a lot of good, good work has been done,”
he said. “That there continues to be suspicions because it’s a legacy issue,
it’s something that has been there for many, many years, and we consistently
deal with that because that’s critically important.”
The Senegalese football federation said it will appeal
Tuesday’s decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne,
Switzerland, and the Senegalese government slammed what it called a “manifestly
erroneous interpretation of the regulations, leading to a grossly illegal and
deeply unjust decision”.
Motsepe defended CAF against perceptions of favouritism
toward Morocco, which is a 2030 World Cup co-host and has invested heavily to
become a football superpower.
“Not a single country in Africa will be treated in a manner
that is more preferential, or more advantageous, or more favourable than any
other country on the African continent,” Morsepe said. “We take what has
happened at the final match in Morocco … we take it very, very seriously.”
He said CAF had already taken steps to address deficiencies.
“We have very high standards that we set for ourselves. It
is important for us that ordinary football supporters and spectators in every
one of the 54 countries in Africa, in their judgment — not in CAF’s judgment,
not in my judgment — regard the decisions of our judicial bodies as fair,”
Motsepe said.
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