Senegal victims of 'most blatant scam' in football history: federation
Senegal have lodged an appeal with the CAS against the CAF's decision to overturn the result of the AFCON final (Abdel Majid BZIOUAT) Senegal football boss Abdoulaye Fall on Thursday labelled the decision to strip the country of its 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title the "most blatant administrative scam in the history of our sport". But "Senegal refuses to accept this as inevitable", the country's football federation (FSF) president added during a press conference held in Paris to introduce the team of lawyers appointed to defend Senegal's "honour" before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). On Wednesday, the FSF lodged an appeal with the CAS against the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) decision to overturn the result of the AFCON final after several Senegal players had walked off the pitch in protest at a penalty awarded to hosts Morocco, shortly after the west Africans had had a goal disallowed.
The full Senegal team then retook the field, before going on to win 1-0 in extra-time courtesy of a Pape Gueye goal. "It is not only the integrity of African football but the integrity of the world of football that will be judged before the CAS," said Juan de Dios Crespo-Perez, one of the Federation's lawyers and a specialist in sports law and the CAS. "This is an attack on the federation, football, and sporting discipline," added Seydou Diagne, who heads up the team of lawyers.
He outlined Senegal's case before the CAS, arguing that stripping them of their title would amount to "calling into question the referee's decision and brazenly violating Laws 5 and 6 of the game", which pertain to the referee and other match officials. "After what Morocco has managed to get the CAF to do, whether through surprise or malice, if the CAS allows it to go ahead, the next World Cup will be played out in law firms in Paris or the United States," Diagne said. "There'll be no point in setting up football academies.
To get stars on the shirt, you'll need lawyers," he added, referring to the stars that denote a country's victories in a particular tournament. - Trophy presentation - A third lawyer, Serge Vittoz of Switzerland, explained that proceedings before the Lausanne-based CAS usually last between nine and 12 months. "The idea is to request an expedited procedure.
But for this expedited procedure to be put in place, everyone must agree," he said. "If there is an expedited procedure, we could expect a decision within two months. " For its part, the Senegalese government last week called for an investigation into allegations of corruption within CAF.