George Weah - CAF decision on AFCON title has 'scarred and blemished' African football

Former African and World Footballer of the Year George Weah condemned CAF's decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and award the trophy to Morocco, warning that the ruling has delivered a damaging blow to the continent's reputation.

Weah, the 1995 Ballon d'Or winner, three-time African Footballer of the Year, and former president of Liberia, invoked FIFA's Laws of the Game to argue that the decision has no sporting or legal foundation.

"This decision has further scarred and blemished African football, undermining confidence in the fairness, consistency, and integrity of football on the continent," Weah said in a statement.

The AFCON final in Rabat on January 18 descended into controversy when Senegal's players walked off the pitch in protest over back-to-back refereeing decisions -- a disallowed goal for them and a penalty awarded to Morocco -- before Sadio Mané personally led his teammates back onto the pitch.

Brahim Díaz missed the penalty for the Atlas Lions, and Senegal went on to win 1-0 in extra time. CAF's appeal board subsequently nullified that result and awarded the trophy to Morocco, via a 3-0 result, citing Senegal's conduct.

Weah argued that the Laws of the Game grants the referee full authority over decisions made during a match, authority that should not be retrospectively overridden in a board room.

He pointed out that the referee allowed play to continue after Senegal's walkout, completed the game, and in his post-match report described a stoppage rather than a forfeit, recommending appropriate sanctions for the on-field infractions.

For Weah, that should have been the end of the matter: "Once play is allowed to continue and the match is completed, the result obtained on the field must stand.

"Football must be decided on the pitch, not re-decided after the final whistle. There is therefore no sporting justification to nullify a match that was completed in accordance with the referee's authority and the Laws of the Game."

Weah also moved to address disinformation about his position on the issue, stating he wanted "to clarify that social media posts widely circulating claiming that I support the decision by CAF Disciplinary Committee against Senegal is blatantly false.

"All those circulating my image and attaching same to such fallacious statements are advised to refrain."

Senegal have already indicated their intention to appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Weah is in full support.

"I call on the court of Arbitration for Sports(CAS) and other relevant authorities to move decisively so that this travesty does not stand," he said.

Former Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong, who led the Super Eagles to the 2024 AFCON final, winning tournament MVP in the process, said he, if he were Morocco's players, would refuse to accept a trophy given under such circumstances.

Troost-Ekong described the decision as a betrayal of what the tournament represents, saying in The Athletic: "When I first heard the news that the result of this year's AFCON final had been overturned, I thought it was a joke.

"When I realised it was actually real, after reading the official statement from CAF, it just made me feel quite sad."

Troost-Ekong, who announced his international retirement just before the AFCON kicked off, said the Appeal Committee's decision was a huge step back for a tournament that has worked hard to earn global credibility, calling it self-inflicted damage at the worst possible time.

"AFCON is the continent's showpiece event. Sometimes, people are waiting for stuff like this to happen so they can mock African football, but so much progress has been made over the last few years to give the competition the respect it deserves," he said.

"This progress has been undermined by the shocking decision from the CAF appeal board. We have taken two steps backwards."

Troost-Ekong added that the damage to African football will take a while to repair: "African football seems to be the only place where you can play extra time in the courts, and it happens too often.

"I have always been passionate about African football and spoken about why I love it. People have seen how AFCON has grown but now the first part of any conversation will be, 'How did Morocco win that final?'

"It puts you on the back foot straight away before you can talk about anything progressive. It is going to take time to rebuild the tournament's reputation."

Weah and Troost-Ekong are not the only high profile backer of Senegal's claim at CAS. Gayton McKenzie, the South African Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture has also said that his country would be willing to provide legal support for Senegal at CAS.

"We must not beat around the bush. Senegal are the African Champions because football games are not won in the boardroom," McKenzie told SABC.

"We will stand by Senegal and assist them, we've got top lawyers in this country that will help out."

Troost-Ekong also warned of the precedent the ruling sets for every future African tournament, whether at international or club level.

"For any future tournament in Africa, anyone who wins will think, 'When does the period for an appeal end?' You will be worried that they might try to take the trophy away from you afterwards," he said.

This concern was echoed by Weah, who warned of a future in which officials rather than referees effectively become the arbiters of match outcomes.

"Where will it end?" he asked. "This decision has further scarred and blemished African football, undermining confidence in the fairness, consistency, and integrity of football on the continent."

CAF's decision has also spawned some unintended consequences, with reports over the week claiming that Guinea were also demanding to be handed the trophy from the 1976 AFCON, when Morocco also staged a walk out, but returned to get the draw they needed to win the tournament, which was competed as a pool format at the time.

Guinea's football federation were forced to issue a denial on Sunday: "The Guinean Football Federation (FGF) wishes to inform the national and international public that it has not initiated any proceedings with either the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) or the Confederation of African Football (CAF) regarding the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations," they wrote in a statement.

"In recent days, information circulating on various media outlets, particularly social networks, has falsely suggested that Guinea has taken steps to contest the result of the match between the Syli National and Morocco during this tournament.

"The Guinean Football Federation wishes to clarify, in a spirit of responsibility and reconciliation, that this information is inaccurate and has no official basis."

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