Decision To Strip Senegal Of Afcon Title Has Left Me Gobsmacked – And Others In Africa Furious

In much than 3 decades of reporting connected African football, I person gone done nan full gamut of emotions: exhilaration – complete immoderate of nan continent’s awesome moments astatine nan Africa Cups of Nations and World Cups; vexation – complete nan errors its governors make – and heavy despair, arsenic 1 wonders whether its custodians will ever unrecorded up to their responsibilities and do their jobs diligently.

The determination connected Tuesday, by nan appeals committee of nan Confederation of African Football (Caf), to strip Senegal of nan 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) title and manus it to Morocco, leaves maine gobsmacked, arsenic it did a erstwhile personnel of nan appeals committee. “As a personification who was connected nan appeals committee for six years I cognize that it does not person nan powerfulness to alteration nan on-field determination of a referee. I cannot understand really they came to this disgraceful decision,” he said.

It has besides near members of nan Caf executive committee furious, knowing that constituent 5.2 of nan laws of nan crippled makes it clear “that nan decisions of a referee regarding facts connected pinch play, including whether aliases not a extremity is scored and nan consequence of nan match, are final”.

“It’s a large joke,” Samir Sobha, nan Caf exco personnel from Mauritius, said connected Wednesday. “We cannot correct a correction by making different correction … Correcting 1 injustice pinch different cannot beryllium considered an acceptable response, either from a sporting aliases an ethical standpoint.”

It is not nan first clip that Caf has made a ridiculous decision.

In May 2019, during nan 2nd limb of nan Champions League last betwixt Espérance of Tunis and Wydad Casablanca, nan Gambian referee Papa Bakary Gassama declared Espérance nan winners aft Wydad’s players had walked disconnected nan section pursuing nan official’s determination to disallow Walid El Karti’s second-half goal.

With play stopped for much than an hr and nan Moroccan broadside refusing to resume Gassama ended nan crippled and awarded nan Tunisian squad a 3-0 victory, starring to nan Champions League last being abandoned for nan only clip successful its history.

Despite nan truth that Gassama’s verdict was successful accordance pinch nan Champions League tourney rules and nan laws of nan game, Caf’s executive committee met successful Paris that June and overturned Gassama’s ruling, ordering a replay of nan abandoned 2nd leg.

It took a slapdown from nan tribunal of arbitration for athletics (Cas) for Caf to yet respect nan referee’s verdict and consequent judicial processes, confirming Espérance arsenic nan winners.

Remarkably, 9 years on, Caf has returned to a self-imposed governance quagmire, arsenic nan appeals body, led by Roli Harriman, a Nigerian precocious tribunal justice, issued a ruling that makes a insult of nan laws of nan game, 1 that Cas is definite to reverse, successful bid to protect football’s hallowed norm – that nan determination of a referee, whether bully aliases bad, is last (excluding nan video adjunct referee).

There is nary uncertainty that Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo had a nightmare during the Afcon final. In fact, his officiating was atrocious: denying Senegal a punishment they deserved and failing to state nan crippled abandoned, successful favour of Morocco, erstwhile nan westbound Africans walked disconnected for much than a 4th of an hour, successful protestation against a punishment awarded against them. But erstwhile Ngambo took nan determination to resume play, nan consequence could only beryllium wished connected nan section of play and not successful nan tribunal of shot justice.

How this matter ends will undoubtedly beryllium a defining infinitesimal for nan five-year presidency of Patrice Motsepe. Judging from nan temper wrong nan African shot community, yet to retrieve from nan unacceptable and inexplicable postponement of nan Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, which he promised would return spot successful Morocco connected time, nan South African billionaire is connected an highly sticky credibility and bequest wicket.