South Africa’s Minister of Sport Gayton McKenzie has offered legal assistance to Senegal in their fight against Confederation of African Football’s decision to strip them of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title.
The CAF Appeals Board ruled that the Teranga Lions breached Article 84 of AFCON regulations, leading to the forfeiture of the final.
The board found that Senegal forfeited the match after coach Pape Bouna Thiaw led a protest over a late penalty awarded to Morocco, briefly instructing players to leave the pitch before captain Sadio Mané intervened.
Morocco’s Ibrahim Díaz later took the penalty, but it was saved by goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, with Senegal going on to win 1–0 after extra time on the pitch.
Following the decision, Senegal confirmed that they are appealing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport over the ruling to strip them of the AFCON title.
South Africa have pledged to help, with McKenzie saying, as quoted by SABC Sport:
“We must not beat around the bush. Senegal are the African champions because football games are not won in the boardroom. We will stand by Senegal and assist them; we’ve got top lawyers in this country that will help out.”
The sport minister also accused Morocco of bullying while speaking about hosting the women’s AFCON:
“As far as the WAFCON is concerned, we have to be honest, why do they treat women in such a fashion? They would never do that to the men’s game, so why do the women not know what’s happening a month before the tournament starts?
“We will not be held hostage by Morocco. South Africa has much more than Morocco; we are a bigger country with a bigger economy and bigger stadiums, so I’m saying that we are ready to host WAFCON.”
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