The Court of Arbitration for Sport will rule on the Africa Cup of Nations title dispute between Senegal and Morocco at the end of November. The ruling will be drafted as a full arbitration act with legal grounds, the court said.
The case concerns Senegal's appeal against the CAF decision to award Morocco the title. The hearing of the parties took place on 8 October in Lausanne. The ruling was initially expected to be published just a few days later, but the procedure will take several more weeks.
Senegal won the final in Rabat 1-0 after extra time in January. The winning goal was scored by Pape Gay. However, the match was marked by tension at the end of normal time, when Senegal were awarded a penalty.
After the decision, some of the Senegalese players left the field for about 14 minutes in protest, and some of them went back to the locker room. Morocco missed the penalty, the match was restarted, and Senegal won in extra time.
Two months later, the Appeals Chamber of the Confederation of African Football ruled that leaving the field constituted abandonment of the match. The result was overturned, and Morocco was awarded a 3–0 official victory and the title.
The Senegalese Football Federation lodged its appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 25 March. Her main argument is that the referee's decision is final for the match and that the match was ultimately brought to an end.
“I expect the decision not to come today, not tomorrow, but a few days later“, said Mathieu Riebe, the director general of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, after the hearing on October 8. At the time, he added that the facts are clear, and the discussion will focus on procedural and legal issues.
The proceedings involve the Senegalese Football Federation, the Confederation of African Football and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. The court will have to assess whether the decision of the African confederation to change the outcome of the final was in accordance with the rules of the tournament and the actions of the head referee during the match.
Pending the publication of the arbitration act, the official title holder remains Morocco, as the decision of the Appeals Chamber has not been overturned. If Senegal's appeal is upheld, the original 1-0 victory after extra time could be restored.