Senegal and Morocco played a chaotic Africa Cup of Nations final in January and they contest the title again Thursday – this time at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
A turbulent match, provoking violent clashes between Senegal fans and Moroccan police, and a hugely controversial fallout will be re-litigated at sport’s highest court in Switzerland nearly nine months after the referee’s final whistle blew in Rabat.
The authority of that referee, Jean-Jacques Ndala of Congo, could be decisive in Senegal’s appeal to regain the trophy that was stripped from players who earned it on the field of play with a 1-0 win over Morocco after extra time.
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The result was overturned in March to a 3-0 win for Morocco by a Confederation of African Football (CAF) appeals panel because Senegal’s team walked off to protest a penalty being awarded, causing a 15-minute delay in play.
A one-day appeal hearing was scheduled with three judges behind closed doors Thursday at CAS headquarters in Lausanne.
No target date has been set by the court for a verdict that should finally crown the champion of African men’s soccer. The next AFCON tournament kicks off in June, co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Leaders of the Senegalese and Moroccan football federations were expected to skip the hearing that clashes with a three-day CAF football summit in Cape Verde being attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Football’s rule book, The Laws of the Game, is clear about the referee’s decision-making power.
“The decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play, including whether or not a goal is scored and the result of the match, are final,” Law 5.2 states.
Senegal beat host nation Morocco in a game eventually completed to referee Ndala’s satisfaction, despite the chaos.
The referee restarted play once Senegal’s players had returned to the field after protesting a penalty kick awarded to Morocco deep in stoppage time.
Before the referee could decide to abandon the game, which would have gifted the title to Morocco, Senegal’s star forward Sadio Mané helped persuade his team to finish the game as tensions rose in the stadium.
The game restarted with the spot kick that could have won Morocco a first AFCON title since 1976.
What Brahim Diaz did next entered soccer history. The Real Madrid forward placed a delicate slow chip shot, designed to deceive the goalkeeper who typically dives to one side and watches the ball slowly arc into the middle of the goal.
Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy stood up straight and easily caught the ball. In the stadium VIP section, footage showed a visibly shocked Moroccan Prince Moulay Rachid sitting with FIFA’s Infantino.
The game went into extra time, and four minutes later Senegal midfielder Pape Gueye surged forward to fire a rising shot into the Morocco net. It was the only goal.
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More than $1 million in total fines for the two federations, plus players and Senegal coach Pape Thiaw, were imposed 11 days after the game by Cairo-based CAF disciplinary judges.
The judges dismissed a request by Morocco to have the result annulled and be declared the winner because of the Senegalese walk-off.
There were appeals to CAF and, two months after the final, Senegal was ruled to have forfeited the game.
CAF appeal judges cited AFCON tournament rules that if a team “refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered loser and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition”.
Senegal’s government promised to help “pursue all appropriate legal avenues” to regain the title and called for an investigation “into suspected corruption” within African football.
The case fueled the sense that 2030 World Cup co-host Morocco has extensive influence within CAF and FIFA.
In May, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI pardoned 18 Senegalese football fans who were jailed over the disorder in the Rabat stadium.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
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