AFCON
Senegal’s Koulibaly blasts Napoli owner to show respect over AFCON comments
Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly said Aurelio De Laurentiis, the owner of his former club Napoli, should respect African teams as much as other national sides in the wake of his comments about the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
De Laurentiis said on Tuesday that he would no longer sign African players unless they agreed to skip the AFCON tournament as its mid-season scheduling deprived Napoli of players.
Koulibaly, who spent eight seasons at Napoli before joining Chelsea, and captained Senegal to AFCON victory while playing for the Serie A club, said the majority of supporters did not share De Laurentiis’s opinion.
“For me, the most important thing is to respect everybody,” Koulibaly told reporters on Wednesday. “You cannot speak about an African national team like this. You have to have respect as you have for the other national teams.
“I think not everyone in the club has the same idea as him. I know everybody over there, I know the supporters, and the supporters don’t think like this.”
In a separate interview published on Wednesday,the 31-year-old said De Laurentiis did not allow him to leave Napoli in 2015 when Chelsea made an earlier attempt to sign him.
“I asked respectfully to the owner that I wanted to leave for Chelsea but he told me that it wouldn’t be possible,” Koulibalytold the Guardian.
“So I waited a bit and continued my conversation with them but they really didn’t want me to leave the club so I decided to renew my contract to stay in Napoli.”
While Napoli came close to winning Serie A under manager Maurizio Sarri, Koulibaly lifted only one Italian Cup trophy while at the club.
He said his chances of winning silverware were higher at the Premier League club.
“With my personal experience, I know you don’t have to give a limit to your dream and my dream is to win everything with Chelsea,” he added.
“I don’t come with arrogant behaviour. I come with respect, a lot of respect for everybody, but I know Chelsea is a big team and a team that has to win, that’s used to winning.”
-Reuters
Senegal’s government on Wednesday called for an international investigation into what it said was suspected corruption within the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after the country was stripped of its 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title.
CAF’s appeals board ruled on Tuesday that Senegal had “forfeited” the January final by briefly leaving the pitch in protest during stoppage time, converting a 1-0 extra-time win into a 3-0 default defeat in favour of hosts Morocco.
In a statement, the government condemned CAF’s ruling as “grossly illegal and profoundly unjust” and called for the opening of an international independent investigation to address what it described as suspicions of corruption inside CAF’s leadership.
CAF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Senegalese Football Federation earlier said it would appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, calling the ruling unprecedented and unacceptable and vowing to file its challenge in Lausanne “as soon as possible.”
-Reuters
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Senegal have condemned the decision to strip them of the Africa Cup of Nations title, labelling it “unfair, unprecedented, and unacceptable”, and saying it casts a shadow over African football.
Morocco were declared African champion on Tuesday after the Confederation of African Football’s Appeal Board upheld their protest and found Senegal’s walk-off during the final on January 18 were grounds for them to be disqualified and the match result declared 3-0 in favour of the hosts.
Senegal won the final in Rabat with an extra-time goal, but not before staging a 14-minute walk-off after a penalty was awarded against them in stoppage time at the end of the regulation 90 minutes.
The protest was instigated by coach Papa Bouna Thiaw, subsequently handed a lengthy ban, and saw Senegal’s veteran striker Sadio Mane emerge as a hero as he attempted to get his teammates back onto the field.
Once Senegal returned to the pitch, the referee allowed play to continue with Morocco squandering the last-gasp penalty and the encounter then going to extra time, with midfielder Pape Gueye netting the 94th-minute winner.
However, CAF’s Appeal Board said that by walking off, Senegal contravened tournament regulations and forfeited the game.
“The Senegalese Football Federation denounces this unfair, unprecedented, and unacceptable decision, which casts a shadow over African football,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.
“To defend its rights and the interests of Senegalese football, the federation will initiate an appeal as soon as possible before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.”
The Swiss-based CAS had to intervene in 2019 when Moroccan club Wydad Casablanca walked off in the second leg of the African Champions League final, also protesting against VAR.
In that case, they refused to play on, and the referee declared opponents Esperance as winners, but CAF’s executive committee then surprisingly ordered a replay.
Esperance took the matter to CAS and were declared champions, with CAF embarrassingly rebuked, opens new tab for attempting to override the referee’s decision.
The decision by Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala to continue with the Cup of Nations final in January, rather than stop it and declare Morocco winners after Senegal’s walk-off, will likely feature strongly in any arguments for a reinstatement of Senegal as champions.
The Laws of the Game state the referee’s decision is final.
“No one could have imagined such a statement two months after the final,” said veteran coach Claude Le Roy, who managed Senegal between 1988 and 1992.
“For years, all the refereeing decisions have been flouted by the CAF,” he said on French television.
-Reuters
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By Kunle Solaja.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeal Board has awarded the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title to the Morocco national football team after ruling that the Senegal national football team forfeited the final match of the tournament.
In a landmark decision announced on Wednesday, the CAF Appeal Board invoked Article 84 of the AFCON Regulations to declare Senegal to have forfeited the final played at the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025, with the result officially recorded as 3–0 in favour of Morocco.
The ruling followed an appeal lodged by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football, challenging the earlier decision of CAF’s Disciplinary Board.
Appeal Upheld, Earlier Decision Overturned
CAF confirmed that Morocco’s appeal was admissible and upheld, leading to the overturning of the Disciplinary Board’s initial ruling.
The Appeal Board found that the conduct of the Senegal team fell within the scope of Articles 82 and 84 of the AFCON Regulations, and that the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football, through its team’s actions, had breached the competition rules.
As a result:
- Senegal was declared to have forfeited the final match
- Morocco was awarded a 3–0 victory
- All other claims by Senegal were dismissed
Sanctions and Additional Rulings
The CAF Appeal Board also issued several decisions relating to incidents during the final:
Player Misconduct
- Moroccan midfielder Ismaël Saibari was found guilty of misconduct.
- His punishment was reduced to a two-match suspension, with one match suspended.
- A previously imposed $100,000 fine was cancelled.
Ball Boys Incident
- Morocco was held responsible for the conduct of the ball boys.
- The fine was reduced to $50,000.
VAR/Referee Interference
- The Appeal Board upheld a $100,000 fine against Morocco for interference around the VAR review area.
Laser Incident
- The fine imposed on Morocco was reduced to $10,000.
All other appeals and motions were dismissed.
Major Implications
The decision represents one of the most dramatic rulings in AFCON history, effectively overturning the outcome of a continental final through regulatory enforcement.
By applying Articles 82 and 84, CAF reinforced its position on disciplinary compliance and match conduct, with the forfeiture ruling handing Morocco the title without the need for a replay.
The ruling also underscores CAF’s willingness to impose severe sanctions, including match forfeiture, where teams are found to have breached competition regulations.
Final Outcome
- Morocco: Declared AFCON 2025 champions (3–0 awarded win)
- Senegal: Final forfeited due to regulatory breaches
The decision brings a definitive end to the dispute surrounding the AFCON 2025 final, with Morocco officially crowned champions of Africa.
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