The appeal filed by Morocco before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding the 2025 AFCON final continues to spark debate. While many Senegalese fans fear a challenge to the Lions’ victory, sports journalist Mansour Loum is particularly confident. After criticizing the issues observed during the 2026 World Cup, he believes that this time, the legal arguments strongly favor Senegal, and the risk of losing the continental title remains very low.
Mansour Loum first reminds us that the procedure initiated before the CAS will not be handled quickly. According to him, Senegal wanted an expedited process to reach a decision swiftly, but that request did not succeed. “There are two procedures before the CAS: an expedited procedure and a standard procedure. Senegal wanted an expedited process for a quick decision, but Morocco opposed it,” he explains. The lack of agreement between the two parties means they must resort to the standard procedure.
The journalist points out that this procedure can take many months, and it’s impossible to predict the verdict date. “So we are in a standard procedure that can last up to fifteen months. No one can say for certain when the decision will be made. It could come in several months or take much longer,” he emphasizes. To illustrate this reality, he cites Mady Touré’s appeal after the Senegalese Football Federation election, which is still pending before the CAS, proving that this court often takes its time to examine cases.
Beyond the timelines, Mansour Loum stresses the substantive elements that, in his view, significantly strengthen Senegal’s position. The first concerns the conduct of the final itself. “The match went to its conclusion. That’s an extremely strong element before the CAS. In principle, the result obtained on the field enjoys significant legal protection,” he analyzes. To him, the fact that the match was played until the final whistle is a major argument that makes challenging the result particularly difficult.
The journalist also places great importance on the official report from referee Jean-Jacques Ndala. “At no point does the referee mention a match abandonment or Senegal’s withdrawal. He only refers to a temporary interruption of play. The referee is the master of the game, and his report is a key piece before the CAS,” explains Mansour Loum. This wording, he believes, considerably weakens the argument of a voluntary abandonment of the match and could weigh heavily in the final decision of the CAS judges.
AFCON 2025: New developments at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Senegal is smiling again (read in comments) pic.twitter.com/cGiVvfdFZb
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Finally, Mansour Loum discusses the recent changes to the Laws of the Game adopted by IFAB before the 2026 World Cup. According to him, this strengthening of provisions regarding teams voluntarily leaving the field shows that the rules in effect during the 2025 AFCON had certain gray areas.
“The fact that IFAB felt the need to modify and strengthen these provisions indicates that the texts applicable at the time of the 2025 AFCON were probably not precise enough. If new rules had to be created, it means there was a legal gap on certain aspects,” he believes. Considering these various elements, the journalist concludes confidently: “Based on the available legal elements, I think the CAS should logically rule in favor of Senegal.”
