Four weeks after the CAN final won by Senegal against Morocco (1-0), the controversy remains lively. Friday, during the general assembly of the Confederation of African Football, its president Patrice Motsepe relaunched the debate by announcing an imminent tightening of the disciplinary regulations, suggesting that the sanctions imposed on the two selections were not sufficiently dissuasive.
The Lions of Teranga were thus fined a heavy fine of 513,000 euros. Their coach, Pape Thiaw, was suspended five matches for asking his players to leave the pitch in order to contest a penalty awarded to Morocco. Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaïla Sarr will be missed, two meetings.
On the Moroccan side, a fine was also imposed. Achraf Hakimi was suspended two matches, one of which was suspended, while Ismael Saibari was sentenced to three matches.
“We gave instructions”
“Extremely disappointed by what happened”said Patrice Motsepe, also saying he was dissatisfied with the arbitration and the decisions taken by the disciplinary committee, considered too lenient. An outing which freed up speech, in particular that of the president of the arbitration commission, Olivier Safari Kabene.
According to the Arabic-speaking media WinWinthe Congolese leader would have revealed that he helped avoid a premature end to the meeting. The regulations provided that the withdrawal of the Senegalese players could lead to the end of the match, paving the way for a victory on the green carpet for Morocco.
“All Senegalese players who left the field should have been warned immediately upon their return, but we gave instructions not to do so in order to preserve the match and avoid its end before the end of regulation time”he would have declared. Words which, if confirmed, could further revive the controversy surrounding this final.
