The Executive Committee of the African Football Confederation (CAF) met on Friday in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and reignited the controversy surrounding the final of the last Africa Cup of Nations between Senegal and Morocco.
According to Qatari media outlet Winwin, picked up by RMC, Olivier Safari, the president of the CAF referees committee, reportedly admitted that specific instructions were given to avoid sanctioning Senegalese players during the interruption of the match.
A final marked by high tensions
About a month ago, in Rabat, Senegal clinched its second continental title by beating Morocco 1-0 after extra time. However, the final was marred by incidents. At the end of regular time, after a penalty was awarded to Morocco following a disallowed goal for the Lions, several Senegalese players left the field to return to the locker room, urged by their coach, Pape Thiaw.
This interruption, which lasted 16 minutes, along with incidents in the stands, led CAF to impose sanctions at the end of January:
- The Senegalese Football Federation was fined $615,000.
- Pape Thiaw was suspended for five matches and fined $100,000.
- Players Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaïla Sarr were suspended for two matches.
Instructions to avoid sanctions?
The controversy took a new turn after statements attributed to Olivier Safari during this Comex meeting. According to reports, he acknowledged a deliberately lenient approach to officiating to prevent the match from being stopped.
“Every Senegalese player who left the field should have normally received an immediate warning upon returning, but we instructed not to do so, to preserve the match and avoid an early interruption,” Olivier Safari reportedly said.
These comments suggest that CAF intentionally asked referees not to issue cards, fearing that excessive sanctions could lead to cascading expulsions and jeopardize the final’s integrity.
