The Albany Gazette - AFCON stripping of Senegal's title a 'disgrace for Africa' say fans

Gora Ndiaye, a resident of Dakar who works as a chauffeur, told AFP he felt like he had "been hit over the head" when he heard the news on the radio.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) sensationally stripped Senegal of their title late Tuesday, citing regulations about leaving the field, which members did during the end of the final match two months ago.

With the news ricocheting across social media and the airwaves Wednesday fans now wait for a promised appeal by their country's football authorities.

"If this law was applicable, it should have been applied immediately and the cup should have been awarded to the Moroccans" Ndiaye said, calling the move "a disgrace for Africa".

Several Senegalese players controversially walked off the pitch in Rabat during the final on January 18 in protest when the hosts were awarded a penalty late in second-half stoppage time.

After Senegal's players eventually returned having been coaxed back onto the pitch by captain Sadio Mane, Morocco missed the penalty and Pape Gueye went on to score the goal in extra time that gave his team a 1-0 victory.

CAF said that having studied an appeal by Morocco, "the Senegal national team is declared to have forfeited the match" and the result was "officially recorded as 3-0" in favour of Morocco.

"I started by laughing and being surprised at the same time, because it really shocked me that two months later they took away our victory", Assietou Diallo, a 25-year-old accounting assistant, told AFP from downtown Dakar.

Senegalese press was unanimous, with headlines such as "Big Continental Farce", "Joke of the Century" and "Unprecedented Scandal".

- Waiting for appeal -

Senegal's football authorities said they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), condemning what they said was an "unjust, unprecedented and unacceptable decision".

In the meantime, Senegal fans maintain that even if stripped of the trophy, they are still the true victors in the eyes of spectators.

"We played and we won", Senegal supporter Khola Diouf told AFP from Dakar, pointing to Morocco's missed penalty in the final moments of the game, adding that "the whole world is witnessing and knows that Senegal deserves the cup".

The trophy, said Ndiaye the driver, "is an object" and even "if we give it to the Moroccans, you have to know that Senegal beat them on the field".

Issac Ndiaye, an administrative officer in Dakar, was more circumspect, and did not find the AFCON decision totally unexpected.

"I'm not too surprised. The Senegalese reaction was a bit excessive", the 38-year-old told AFP. "I think that at the AFCON, the only person who was clear-headed was Sadio Mane".

The CAF Appeals Committee justified its decision by applying Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON Regulations, which state 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".

The articles add the team contravening the regulations "will lose its match by 3-0".

(P.Clark--TAG)