The President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, is expected in Dakar on Wednesday for talks with the Senegalese authorities, amid an ongoing dispute between Senegal and Morocco which is before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
CAF announced on Tuesday that Motsepe’s visit is scheduled for Wednesday, April 8, during which he will hold talks with President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and the head of the Senegalese Football Federation, Abdoulaye Fall.
Further details of the visit are expected to be released later.
The visit comes against the backdrop of an appeal filed by the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) with the CAS, based in Lausanne, challenging CAF’s decision to award Morocco a 3-0 victory in the AFCON 2025 final.
According to the CAS, Senegal’s appeal seeks to overturn the ruling issued on March 17 by CAF’s Appeals Jury, which declared the “Lions of Teranga” to have forfeited the match and validated the result in Morocco’s favour, following a dispute stemming from the final played in Rabat.
The Senegalese side is also requesting to be declared tournament winners and has sought additional time to submit its legal brief, arguing that the contested decision did not include all its underlying grounds. An arbitral panel is to be constituted in line with CAS procedures, although no hearing date has yet been set.
On the Moroccan side, Royal Moroccan Football Federation President Faouzi Lekjaa maintains that the kingdom has a “comprehensive and legally robust” case, notably based on the referee’s report and video evidence indicating Senegal’s withdrawal from the match.
He argues that CAF’s decision is grounded in Article 84 of its disciplinary code concerning match abandonment, and that Morocco had agreed to continue the match to avoid sanctions.
Motsepe recently stated that he would respect the CAS ruling, whatever its outcome, emphasising that his personal views would not influence the process.
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