Senegal refuses to hand over the African Cup of Nations

In a new media outing for representatives of the Senegalese Football Association, lawyer Seydou Diagne, representative of the “Tiranga Lions” legal team, chose to shed light on the merits of the file, during a press conference held today in the French capital, Paris.

In his speech, Diagne confirmed that Senegal “does not intend to return the African Cup of Nations” to Morocco, highlighting that the decision of the Appeals Committee of the Confederation of African Football “does not include any reference to withdrawing the title or request to return the medals.” In an attempt to establish the legitimacy of his country’s national team retaining the cup, despite the rapid legal developments that do justice to the Moroccan bid, mathematically and legally.

The representative of the “Lions of Teranga” legal team explained that the appeal filed before “Al-Tas” is not limited only to the details of the decision; Rather, it targets a broader legal principle, related to the possibility of canceling a final referee’s decision by a disciplinary body, considering that this “contraries to the laws of CAF,” which constitutes the core of the defenses of the Senegalese side in this dispute.

In a related context, the Senegalese lawyer stressed that his country’s national team “is not legally obligated to return the title,” based on the fact that the decision issued by the Appeals Committee was notified without its merits, adding that “an unjustified decision, according to Swiss law, is not enforceable.”

On the other hand, lawyer Diani revealed that his team is moving towards filing a complaint for corruption targeting five people, without revealing their identities, stressing: “A corruption complaint will be filed against five people... We are not accusing the Kingdom of Morocco, but we have valid data that justify the request to open an international criminal investigation in the United States of America.”

In the same context, the same spokesman stressed the need for the Appeals Committee to respect the wording of its original ruling and not amend it, especially the ninth point, which he said the Senegalese side had, adding that his country’s federation had not reached within the time frame the merits of the decision, despite the passage of days since notification of the wording, considering that any possible change “will be considered forgery and the use of a forged document.”

Seydou Diagne also confirmed that the English and French versions available to the Senegalese defense do not include any reference to withdrawing the title or demanding the return of the cup; This is the given that the Senegalese side adheres to in exchange for what Morocco considers a legal basis based on confirming the fact of withdrawal and defeat by an official decision.