RABAT, Feb 3 : – Morocco’s football federation (FRMF) announced on Tuesday it would appeal the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) disciplinary rulings over last month’s chaotic Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal, which the hosts lost 1-0 after extra time.
FRMF criticised the sanctions as disproportionate to the “seriousness and gravity” of the incidents during the 18 January match, which was overshadowed by a 14-minute interruption after Senegalese players staged a walk-off, a pitch invasion by their fans and confrontations involving players and staff.
CAF’s Disciplinary Committee handed Senegal’s coach Pape Thiaw a five-match ban and fined him $100,000 (£82,000) after he instructed his team to leave the pitch following a VAR decision to disallow a goal late in regular time.
Senegal’s football federation was fined $615,000 (£508,000) for the behaviour of their players and supporters, with Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr receiving two-match bans for unsporting actions directed at the referee.
Morocco, whose appeal to have the match result overturned was rejected by CAF, were also hit with sanctions totalling $315,000 (£260,000).
Their penalties relate to what CAF described as misconduct by Moroccan players, staff, and supporters, including the use of laser pointers and improper intervention in the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) area.
Captain Achraf Hakimi was handed a two-match suspension, one of which is suspended for a year, while Ismael Saibari was banned for three games, with both players penalised for attempting to remove Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy’s towel in heavy rain conditions.
“The FRMF will appeal the decisions in order to safeguard all rights guaranteed by law,” said a statement issued by the federation, which specifically cited “the withdrawal of Senegalese players and the conduct of their supporters” during the final as grounds for contesting the rulings.
CAF, however, described the tournament as a success overall, highlighting record revenues despite the controversy surrounding the final.
CAF confirmed the sanctions will apply to its competitions, further souring the conclusion to what Morocco had hoped would be a triumphant campaign on home soil.
(Reporting Hamza Ait Messaoud in Rabat; Writing by Ashraf Hamed Atta, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
