AFCON: CAF chief denies corruption as Senegal loses title to Morocco
The President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, has rejected allegations of corruption following the body’s controversial decision to strip Senegal of its Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and award it to Morocco.
Speaking in Morocco on Thursday, Motsepe dismissed the claims raised by Senegalese authorities, insisting that CAF has nothing to hide and is open to legal scrutiny.
“If anybody wants to initiate legal action alleging that there is corruption in CAF, I don’t only welcome that, I encourage them,” he said,
Motsepe added that the organisation respects the judicial sovereignty of all its member nations.
“There’s nothing to hide. We respect enormously the judicial and legal sovereignty of every single one of our 54 nations on the African continent.
I’m confident that whatever the decision of CAS will say, we will respect it and we will implement it,” he added, referring to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The controversy stems from CAF’s decision to overturn Senegal’s 1-0 victory over Morocco in the AFCON final held on January 18 in Rabat.
The football body later awarded a 3-0 win to Morocco, citing regulations after Senegalese players, along with head coach Pape Thiaw and officials, walked off the pitch following a late penalty awarded to Morocco, which was ultimately missed by forward Brahim Diaz.
Motsepe emphasised that CAF would abide by the outcome of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), where Senegal has filed an appeal challenging the decision.
The ruling has triggered outrage in Senegal, with the government calling for an international investigation into alleged corruption within CAF, further escalating tensions over the disputed final.
Source:The suns
