New Delhi: The impending saga over the winner of the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title is set to conclude, with the Court of Arbitration (CAS) set to hear Senegal’s appeal in the matter.
Senegal approached the CAS after being stripped of the AFCON 2026 title following their walkout in the controversial final.
Senegal won the final after beating Morocco 1-0 in the final. However, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) stripped their title and awarded it to Morocco over the team’s decision to walk off the pitch. Senegal had walked off the pitch and didn’t return for 14 minutes after Morocco were awarded a penalty against them late in regulation time.
Several Senegal players returned to the dressing room as the match was halted. They later returned on the pitch as the game resumed. Morocco went on to miss the penalty as the final went into extra time, where Senegal scored the winner to win the final.
However, they were stripped off the title two months later after the CAF ruled that Senegal had forfeited the match by walking off the pitch. The CAF declared Morocco 3-0 winners and awarded them the title.
Senegal appealed against CAF’s decision to strip them of the AFCON 2026 title in the CAS. The complaint was lodged by the country’s football federation in March this year. The case is set to be heard on Thursday. Senegal want to be reinstated as winners, and the CAS will hear arguments from all three parties.
“After the hearing, the panel will start its deliberations. At this stage, CAS cannot state when a final decision will be rendered but it will not be on the date of the hearing,” CAS said in a statement.
Three-man CAS panel to hear case
A three-man CAS panel is set to hear arguments from all three parties in the case. French civil rights expert Gerald Simon will preside over the panel, which will also consist of Italian international law professor Luigi Fumagalli and Hamburg-based lawyer and professor of law at the University of Zurich, Ulrich Haas.
It is worth noting that the CAF’s Appeals Board had ruled in Morocco’s favour earlier this year as the tournament rules state that if any team refuses to play or leaves the field for whatever reason, they should be considered the loser and eliminated from the competition.
Thus, Senegal were disqualified from the competition despite winning the final, with Morocco being declared the winners of the tournament.