We will see what the Court of Arbitration for Sport decides regarding the Senegal-Morocco final. But one thing is certain, this whole series could clearly have been better managed, to avoid reaching such extremes. In this case, the change of a result, on the green carpet, months after the final whistle.
To avoid such a soap opera, Fifa has decided to pass on some instructions during a congress this week in Vancouver. Thus, according to the Times, the body asked the referees to immediately sanction with a red card a player who leaves the field to protest against an arbitration decision.
The sanction would be the same for a member of the staff who encourages one or more players to act in this way. And if a team as a whole were to return to the locker room, as Senegal did, it would be a lost match, automatically. This regulation already exists, and it is the one on which CAF relied to give Morocco the victory on the green carpet during the CAN final.
Fifa also reacts to the Vinicius affair
In another register, Fifa also took measures after another incident that occurred in recent weeks: the Vinicius-Prestianni affair. The Brazilian accuses the Benfica player of having made racist remarks towards him. The Argentinian was ultimately sanctioned for homophobic insults, which he admitted to having uttered.
Fifa’s response? Sanction with a red card players who address an opponent with their hand or mouth. This could make it possible to read the lips of the players, and therefore to detect possible racist remarks which would escape the opponents.
