AFCON 2026: Senegal in order of battle

We are attending the longest match in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations. The final of the AFCON 2025, which began in Rabat on January 18, 2026 with a victory for Senegal on the field (1-0 after extra time), still continues two months later, with a victory announced by Morocco on green carpet by the Appeal Jury of the African Football Confederation (CAF), and the continuation will take place in Lausanne, seat of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Feeling cheated, the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) announced an appeal before the CAS to contest.

Senegal has also organized its defense around a group of experienced lawyers. Thus, around Mr. Seydou Diagne, who will be responsible for steering the legal strategy, we will have Mr. Aly Fall, president of the bar, and Mr. Moussa Sarr, a renowned lawyer in the Senegalese sports community. Foreign experts are also in the team, notably with the Swiss Serge Vittoz, accustomed to CAS appeals and who had defended Senegal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2017 after the match against South Africa (qualifications for the 2018 World Cup), which had been replayed after a corruption scandal involving the match referee.

The FSF raises the tone
This Thursday, March 19, the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) held a press briefing. Its president, Abdoulaye Fall, was confident about the outcome of the case. 

«The match happened, there were protests, a penalty awarded and missed. The match ended, Senegal won during extra time. We received the medals, the trophy, and the prize money. For us, it’s a closed case. There was no reserve in the match. The complaint was declared admissible but there was no reservation,"

 he said first, before continuing: 

"At first instance, the jury had decided and we had not appealed. There, the appeal commission decided. In terms of law, Senegal cannot lose this title. (...) We fight against an injustice, we fight against a wrongdoing. I receive emails from around the world telling us that we are experiencing an injustice. The lawyers all tell us that the regulation was not respected.''

 The battle will be fought at the TAS and Senegal is ready to present a concrete case.
As for whether or not to return the trophy, the response was expeditious:

 "We will comply with the statutory and regulatory decisions of the CAF."

The battle between Senegal, Morocco and the CAF promises to be epic.