AFCON Final 2025: How CAF interfered and manipulated the Appeal Jury

After consulting multiple internal sources, Sport News Africa is able to confirm that the CAF’s own administration has interfered in the process announced as "independent" from the Jury d'Appel notwithstanding the rules and statutes established by the same CAF.

A little more than two weeks before the Jury d'Appel meeting, the secretary general of the Confederation of African football, Véron Mosengo-Omba, dismissed the director of independent bodies within the legal affairs division of the CAF, Yassin Osman Robleh. Officially, this dismissal took place as part of a more global overhaul of the legal sector and did not mention any particular fault.

In office for more than five years, the Djiboutian was unanimously recognized for his professionalism within the body. Members of the Executive Committee, including Augustin Senghor, demanded explanations from Patrice Motsepe since the secretary-general was officially no longer entitled to hold office since last October 15 because of the age limit. Hence a legitimate question: how could he also fire a director without notifying anyone?

Why was the director in charge of the jury dismissed two weeks earlier?

If the decision surprised, its timing questioned more: why dismiss the director who was coordinating the Jury d'Appel two weeks before the most important legal procedure of the CAF in recent years? Furthermore, the Secretary-General did not appoint a replacement.

To understand well, Robleh was in charge of the Disciplinary Committee and the Jury of Appeal, ensuring the application of texts and the proper conduct of the so-called independent committees. If he was contractually dependent on the CAF, the Djiboutian was structurally detached from the administration for questions of independence.

Jointly with the chair of each commission who requested a number of jurors for each file, he coordinated and then proposed the names to sit to decide. A key role in avoiding interference and ensuring that each jury can be as impartial as possible depending on the cases.

The influence of the director of legal affairs illegally appointed by Véron Mosengo-Omba

In his absence, Sport News Africa learned that Cédrick Aghey, recently appointed CAF’s Director of Legal and Compliance Affairs by the Secretary-General - whose office he previously managed - had intervened to select jurors.

Contrary to the texts governing the CAF, Aghey’s appointment already suffered from an irregularity since the general secretary’s proposal had to be validated beforehand by the Executive Committee, which was not the case. Several members opposed this act, especially by a secretary-general who could no longer exercise his profession under the terms of the statute since October 15!

No matter, Aghey took Robleh’s place and directly chose the five jurors requested by the president of the Jury of Appeal, Roli Daibo Harriman. According to some internal sources, the proposals were not really joint but driven by the legal director, which raises concerns: how the Appeal Panel, an officially independent commission whose functioning was detached from the administration, could now be directly influenced by this same administration?

Conflicts of interest with the president of the Tunisian Federation

Among the five jurors chosen, besides Aghey’s proximity to his Togolese compatriot Espoir Asogbavi Komlan who questioned, the decision to incorporate Moez Ben Nasri is likely to have violated the CAF disciplinary code.

If the president of the Tunisian Football Federation has no ban on sitting on the jury – as long as he does not belong to the Executive Committee or a permanent commission of the CAF according to Article 19 -, he is supposed to «declare every conflict of interest» before the meeting according to article 20. However, he sits at the UNAF, the North African Football Union, as one of the protagonists, Morocco.

Without even talking about his close ties with the president of the Moroccan federation, Faouzi Lekjaa, whose support was useful during his own election in Tunisia, how Cédrick Aghey has-could he knowingly choose Moez Ben Nasri among the five people out of the nine being part of the Jury d'Appel given his common membership to the UNAF?

Importantly, the Tunisian is the only active member in football governance among the committee members. Its incorporation is all the more incomprehensible as it would allow Senegal to plead procedural defects on the form and thus obtain the annulment of the vote by the CAS without even pleading the substance.

How will the Executive Committee react?

Accustomed to managing the CAF without worrying about statutes, the current administration has not departed from its principles denounced by multiple internal reports and by the famous external report carried out by an Egyptian audit company that was kept secret.

Problem, this lack of respect for the texts could be fatal to one of the parties (Morocco) and above all raises existential questions: what are the real reasons for the dismissal of Yassin Osman Robleh? Why not have waited for the end of the procedure to proceed with his departure?

Already dissatisfied, the Executive Committee which has hidden itself in silence and submission for years could finally take its responsibilities at the next meeting scheduled for March 29 and demand accountability from Patrice Motsepe, a president who absolutely does not control the body he is supposed to lead.