We respect AFCON final decision – Babitseng
Mqondisi Dube | Friday March 20, 2026 13:07
Senegal won the January 18 final after a brief walkout to protest the referee's decision to award Morocco a penalty. However, the Senegalese players returned to complete the match with goalkeeper, Eduardo Mendy, saving Brahim Diaz's Panenka penalty.
But after exactly two months, CAF's Appeal Board ruled that Morocco and not Senegal had won the final, citing Article 84 of the AFCON regulations on forfeiture.
Senegal was deemed to have forfeited the contest after their players walked off despite returning to complete the match. The decision has sparked outrage across the football world, with some critics labelling it a 'joke'. However, some have defended CAF that rules have to be implemented.
Reacting to the ruling, BFA president Babitseng said the decision has to be respected and that CAF's judicial bodies are independent.
'These judicial bodies are independent and are not selected by the executive committee but by the CAF general assemblies. They need to be respected. They work on facts before them. This particular decision is not instituted by the (CAF) GS (general secretary),' Babitseng said. 'There is no interference from the (CAF) executive; the only people who can remove these people (Appeal Board) are the general assembly. Processes are processes; I will have a problem if the processes are not followed,' he added.
The CAF Appeal Board awarded the match to Morocco on a 3-0 score line, but CAF has not indicated the process of recovering medals and prize money awarded to Senegal.
Yesterday, Senegal indicated that it had instructed its lawyers to appeal to the Court of Sport Arbitration in Zurich, and Babitseng said CAF will respect whatever outcome.
'If they win at CAS, we will respect the ruling,' he said. Justice Roli Daibo of Nigeria heads the CAF Appeal Board, which has members from Cape Verde, Tunisia, Namibia, Mauritania, Djibouti, Togo, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.