Senegal stripped of AFCON title with Morocco crowned winners: Key questions answered and potential ramifications

The extraordinary ruling to strip Senegal of their AFCON title and award it to Morocco two months later is unprecedented. Here we answer the key questions and examine the potential ramifications...

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeal Board found Senegal broke AFCON regulations by walking off the pitch during the final, which took place on January 18, after Morocco were awarded a contentious penalty.

Many Senegal players vacated the field, led by their coach Pape Thiaw, delaying the game by around 17 minutes before captain Sadio Mane convinced them to return. Brahim Diaz had his Panenka saved before tournament hosts Morocco lost 1-0 in extra-time.

Article 82 of AFCON's regulations states that if a team refuses to play or leaves the ground before the end of regulation time without the referee's authorisation, it will be considered the loser and eliminated from the competition.

Under Article 84 any team that violates Article 82 will be permanently eliminated and lose the match 3-0.

The result is an outcome of an appeal made by Morocco's football federation.

IFAB, football's lawmakers, determine the rules of the game worldwide.

Rule 5.2 in IFAB's Laws of the Game states: "The decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play, including whether or not a goal is scored and the result of the match, are final."

By overturning the match result two months later, CAF's appeal body appears to have directly contradicted IFAB's rules.

No explanation has been given by CAF around why the officials failed to apply the regulations at the time.

CAF have re-analysed the rulebook following Morocco's appeal against initial sanctions around the other controversial flashpoints from the final.

Subsequently, the appeal board took the unprecedented step of reversing the result, awarding a 3-0 win to Morocco.

Morocco said in a statement the appeal was never "intended to challenge the sporting performance of the teams" only "to request the application of the competition's regulations".

"This is just completely extraordinary," Sky News' sport correspondent Rob Harris said. "You can't really think of anything like it at this level."

The Senegalese football federation plan to appeal the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the highest court in Switzerland, which typically takes around a year to deliver a verdict.

Senegal are preparing to file their appeal and after that a panel will be appointed for their case.

The Senegalese federation branded the decision "iniquitous, unprecedented and unacceptable", saying it "threw discredit on African football".