Senegal to parade Afcon trophy despite title being stripped

Senegal plan to parade the Africa Cup of Nations trophy before their game against Peru in Paris on Saturday, with the head of the country's Football Federation vowing a "crusade" against the decision to strip the team of the title.The Lions of Teranga claimed their second Afcon title on 18 January when they beat hosts Morocco 1-0 after extra time in a final which ended in chaotic scenes when the Senegal players walked off the pitch after their opponents were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.But last week the Confederation of African Football (Caf) overturned that result, awarding Morocco a 3-0 victory.On Tuesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) confirmed receipt of Senegal's appeal against that decision, promising to rule "as swiftly as possible"."Faced with what amounts to the most blatant and unprecedented administrative robbery in the history of our sport, the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) refuses to accept this as inevitable," FSF president Abdoulaye Fall said at a media conference in the French capital.Shortly before making his comments, FSF social media posted a timetable for events around Saturday's friendly at the Stade de France which included a trophy parade."Senegal will not bend the knee and will not compromise its values," added Fall. "Our fight now transcends the football pitch."Following the controversial final in Rabat - in which Morocco and Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz missed a Panenka penalty to win the match in the 114th minute - the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) immediately lodged a complaint with Caf and Fifa, claiming that Senegal leaving the field of play "greatly affected the normal course of the match and the players' morale".Caf's disciplinary committee initially rejected that appeal, instead issuing sanctions against both sides, including a five-match ban for Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw, on 29 January.The FRMF said those original penalties did not "reflect the seriousness of the incidents", and Caf's appeal board agreed, releasing a statement on 17 March which said Senegal had contravened articles 82 and 84 of competition regulations.Article 82 states that if a team "leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee", they are eliminated.Senegal's government responded by calling for an investigation into "suspected corruption" at Caf, a claim rebuffed by the governing body's president, Patrice Motsepe, who has been at pains to point out the appeal board's independence."It is important that the decisions of our Caf disciplinary board and the Caf appeals board are viewed with respect and integrity," he said.The final decision on who claims the 2025 Afcon title now rests with Cas, sport's highest judicial authority."To wage this moral and legal crusade, we have appointed a team of seasoned professionals with undeniable expertise," Fall announced in Paris, flanked by members of the FSF legal team.One of them, lawyer Seydou Diagne, called the decision to strip Senegal of their title "so blatant, so absurd, so irrational"."The decision of the appeals jury cannot even be considered a true decision of sporting justice," he added."It is an unacceptable and intolerable attack on the fundamental rights of our national Football Federation."Fellow lawyer Juan Perez said: "A match that was over, whose result had been decided by the referee, now being re-refereed, administratively - that's unprecedented. You haven't seen anything like it. It could change the world of football."Caf recently updated the Afcon 2025 review on its website to list Morocco as winners, although that page now appears to have been taken down.With Senegal refusing to relinquish the trophy, and with Saturday's planned parade a sign of their contempt, the battle to be crowned African champions is far from over.