CAF appeals board’s Malawian member Masauko Msungama has declined to comment on the body’s recent decision to strip Senegal the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) which was awarded to Morocco.
The High Court of Malawi judge is part of the five-member appeals board which overturned the result in hosts Atlas Lions’ favour which has created a storm across the continent.
Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in January’s final, but the Confederation of African Football (CAF), through the appeals board, overturned the result on Tuesday because Senegal’s players walked off the pitch in protest when hosts Morocco were awarded a stoppage-time penalty.
Play resumed in the final after a 17-minute delay and Brahim Diaz’s penalty for Morocco was saved and the game went to extra time, where Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored the winner.
Following an appeal by the Moroccan Football Association, CAF ruled that by walking off the pitch Senegal had forfeited the match, with the result being recorded as 3-0 in favour of Morocco.
Asked to comment on the matter yesterday, Msungama said: “It would, at the moment, not be appropriate for me to comment on the same.”
I Courtesy of CAF
The board is chaired by Roli Harriman from Nigeria, who is deputised by Faustino Monteiro from Cape Verde. Other members are Msungama, Moez Nasri of Tunisia and Espoir Komlan from Togo.
CAF president Patrice Motsepe threw his weight behind the appeals body’s decision on Wednesday, saying the incidents that took place during the final undermined work carried out regarding “integrity, respect, ethics, governance, as well as credibility of the results of our football matches”.
“It is important that the decisions of our CAF disciplinary board and the CAF appeals board are viewed with the respect and integrity. That is very important to us,” he said.
“Not a single country in Africa will be treated in a manner which is more preferential or more advantageous or more favourable than any other.”
The Senegalese Football Federation has since said they will appeal against CAF’s decision at CAS, calling it “an unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable decision which brings discredit to African football”.
“This decision is a breach of trust that is not based on any rule of law,” FSF secretary general Abdoulaye Seydou Sow told Senegalese TV channel RTS 1.
“We felt that the jury wasn’t there to uphold the law, but to carry out an order.
“We will stop at nothing. The law is on our side. The fight is far from over. Senegal will defend its rights to the very end.”
Motsepe said CAF will “adhere” to and “respect” the decision taken by CAS.
Some Senegal players have said they will not relinquish their winners’ medals.
“We know what we experienced that evening in Rabat. And no-one can take that away from us,” Senegal and Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye said on social media.
Many influential African and football figures and legends have criticized CAF’s decision, arguing that while the Senegalese were wrong to walk off the pitch, the fact that the referee allowed the match to resume, should have been taken into serious consideration.
