Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) arbitrator Raymond Hack has said he expects the court to rule in favour of Senegal as they appeal the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeal Board verdict which stripped them of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title.
CAF released a statement on Tuesday night stating that their Appeal Board had overturned Senegal’s 1-0 AFCON final win over Morocco in January due to their walk-off in protest against refereeing decisions. Sadio Mané eventually called his teammates back onto the pitch and the match continued, with Senegal emerging victorious in extra time courtesy of a Pape Gueye winner.
Hack told ESPN that due to Morocco having failed to lodge a protest prior to the end of the game, and referee Jean-Jacques Ndala having kept the game going rather than stopping it, there was no basis for the Appeal Board siding with Morocco.
Hack told ESPN when asked if the Appeal Board had any legitimate basis for overturning the final result: “No; not at all, because the referee is the final decision on the game and when he blows the whistle for the end of the game, that’s when the game ends.
“Yes, the team did go off, but they did come back on – and so did Morocco. When Morocco came on, nobody said: ‘We’re playing extra time under protest’ or anything. They played the 30 minutes – the 15 each way.
“Had they said: ‘We’re playing the extra time under protest,’ maybe they would have had something.”
The veteran administrator, who was previously South African Football Association (SAFA) CEO and a FIFA Disciplinary Committee member, believes that the CAS is likely to follow the precedent they set in awarding the CAF Champions League title to Espérance de Tunis.
In that instance, the court ruled against the CAF exco decision that the second leg should be replayed following Wydad’s walk-off over a disallowed goal amid faults in the VAR technology.
Hack added: “In my opinion, I don’t think the Court of Arbitration will uphold the decision of the Appeal Board because there’s precedent to it. In 2019, Wydad were in a similar situation in a CAF club championship, where CAS ruled that the referee’s decision is final. Only a referee can end a game. No matter what happens, only the referee can end it.”
Hack further opined that the CAF Appeal Board had improperly applied article 84 of the tournament rules in awarding a 3-0 win to Morocco. He argued its proper use could only have applied to teams who breached both articles 82 and 83, rather than merely one of the two.
Article 82 states: “If, for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report for a match, or refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered looser [sic] and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition. The same shall apply for the teams previously disqualified by decision of CAF.”
According to Hack, Senegal may justifiably have been adjudged to have breached this article, but they did not breach article 83, which states: “A team that shall not be present on the ground, dressed to play at the time fixed for kick-off or at most 15 minutes later, shall forfeit the match.
“The referee shall register the absence of the team and shall write it in his report. The Organising Committee shall take the final decision in this respect.”
Hack explained: “They say it’s in terms of article 84 – well, 84 is very clear. It says that a team that contravenes the provisions of 82 and 83 shall be eliminated. It doesn’t say it [applies to a team which] contravenes the provisions of 82 or 83.
“It says both of them, and they certainly never contravened the provisions of article 83. In my opinion, I don’t think that Morocco will be declared the winners.”
Hack added that until the CAS issues a verdict, which he expects to take at least six months, Senegal will not have to forfeit their AFCON medals or prize money.
He said: “That (re-issuing of prize money) won’t apply at this stage because nothing will pass until the matter is finally arbitrated by the Court of Arbitration. You can’t go and ask the players: ‘Please give back the medals; please give back the prize money now,’ and there’s a possibility that the Court of Arbitration turn round whenever they do, and say: ‘Pay it back.’
“This matter will take another six months before it’s resolved, but all it does is cast bad aspersions on the image of African football, which is something which obviously should never happen.”
