Senegal FA Secretary General: Morocco's Appeal Sought to Declare Senegal Forfeit

Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, Secretary-General of the Senegalese Football Federation, has issued new statements concerning the events of the Africa Cup of Nations final and the actions taken by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.

Speaking to Senegalese channel "RTS," Sow stated: "Firstly, it must be clarified that CAF took charge of the case and filed a complaint against Senegal, specifically against its coach, player Iliman, for his conduct towards the referee, and Ismaïla Sarr, who allegedly disrespected the referee, but also against our fans."

Sow further clarified that Morocco submitted an appeal for a specific reason: to win the match on paper.

He explained: "Morocco did not file a complaint against our coach or our players. Morocco sought to use the Africa Cup of Nations regulations, specifically Articles 82 and 84, to claim victory by forfeit, regardless of whether Senegal would return to the pitch or not. They presented their arguments and enlisted four lawyers. Morocco insisted in all its reports that Senegal should be considered to have lost by forfeit. Our lawyer defended our position by explaining Article 146 of the Disciplinary Code, which states that a team that does not start a match is considered to have lost, just like a team that starts it but does not finish it. However, Senegal started the match and finished it. Therefore, we could not speak of a loss by forfeit. Consequently, the Disciplinary Committee rejected Morocco's request. This was another victory for us, because all Morocco wanted was for Senegal to be deemed to have lost by forfeit."

Sow added: "After consultation, we decided to enlist one lawyer. The CAF Disciplinary Committee showed us video footage, in the presence of Pape Thiaw, Iliman Ndiaye, and Ismaïla Sarr. We did not deny the facts; rather, we admitted our mistake. However, we, especially Pape Thiaw, explained the circumstances to them and clarified why we found ourselves in that situation."

Protesting Sarr's suspension, Sow remarked: "What surprised me was Ismaïla's penalty. He committed no error. Simply for arguing with the referee, he received a yellow card. It should have ended there. As for Iliman, the referee did not see his action, but the Disciplinary Committee still has the right to impose sanctions based on video review. Consequently, these players and their coach, Pape Thiaw, will be absent from upcoming matches."