The president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF)
said on Wednesday that he was visiting Senegal’s capital Dakar to
support Senegalese football leadership, but stopped short of addressing
directly the details of the controversial CAF decision that stripped
Senegal of its Africa Cup title last month.
He also expressed concern about waning confidence in decisions by
referees and CAF judicial bodies. “Some of those decisions do not enjoy
the respect and credibility which is very important to us,” he said.
Earlier Wednesday, Patrice Motsepe met with Senegalese President
Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a vocal supporter of the national team since its
chaotic January final, which saw Senegalese players walk off the field.
Most of Senegal’s players left the field for nearly 10 minutes as
fans clashed with stewards behind one goal in protest of a controversial
penalty awarded to Morocco after Senegal had a goal disallowed.
The players later returned, Morocco missed the penalty, and Senegal
won in extra time. After the January 18 match, CAF’s disciplinary board
imposed more than $1 million in combined fines on the Senegalese and
Moroccan federations and handed suspensions to Senegal’s coach and
several players. It did not alter the result.
But in March, CAF’s appeals board ruled Senegal forfeited the final
by leaving the field of play without the referee’s authorization and
awarded Morocco a 3-0 victory. Motsepe later defended the decision.
The Senegalese Football Federation filed an appeal in March with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
