A new scandal… Did the CAF president receive ‘orders from above’ following Senegal’s withdrawal?

French media reports have revealed details of the appeal lodged by the Moroccan Football Federation with the CAF Appeals Committee in a bid to secure a landmark decision to transfer the hosting rights for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations from Senegal to the Atlas Lions.

After Morocco’s national team lost the final, held in Rabat two and a half months ago, 0-1 to their Senegalese visitors, the Moroccan side lodged an appeal with CAF, which was accepted by the Appeals Committee, ruling that Morocco was entitled to the title.

The Moroccan case was based on Articles 82 and 84 of the tournament regulations, which stipulate that a team that “refuses to play or leaves the pitch before the end of the match” is deemed to have lost and is eliminated from the competition.

The Lions of Teranga players had left the pitch for around 12 minutes in protest at Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala’s decision to award a penalty in second-half stoppage time, when the score was 0–0.

However, the Senegalese Football Federation did not give up, filing a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) – a move welcomed by CAF President Patrice Motsepe, who emphasised respect for the final decision to be issued by the body, which is based in the Swiss city of Lausanne.

Serious allegations

For its part, the newspaper *Le Monde*, which has seen the official reports relating to the case, has revealed new details in this controversial affair.

In the appeal lodged by the Moroccan Football Federation against the Disciplinary Committee’s decisions on 19 February, the Federation’s Secretary-General, Tarik Najm, referred in his submission to remarks described as embarrassing, attributed to the chairman of CAF’s Referees’ Committee, concerning possible pressure on the referee of the final.

The investigative report published by *Le Monde* on Sunday highlighted the defensive and offensive positions of both sides, particularly regarding the 12-minute stoppage in play caused by the Senegalese players returning to the dressing room.

Prior to the announcement of Morocco’s victory, the Moroccan Football Federation had appealed against the initial sanctions. In a legal memorandum of around 40 pages, Tarek Najm quoted remarks described as serious, attributed to Olivier Safari, the head of CAF’s Referees’ Committee, during the Executive Committee meeting on 13 February in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

According to the Moroccan report, the chairman of the Referees’ Committee is quoted as saying: “Olivier Safary acknowledged that institutional instructions had been issued to the match referee during the stoppage in play following the withdrawal of the Senegalese players, stipulating that the Lions of Teranga players should not be penalised with yellow cards (which would have led to the sending-off of two players who had already been cautioned), in order to ensure the match continued upon their return to the pitch”.

The question remains: was the referee actually subjected to pressure from higher authorities not to caution the Senegalese players in order to ensure the match was completed?

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