By Harry Awurumibe with agency report
Expectations of early adjudication of the appeal lodged by the Senegalese Football Federation against the decision of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to strip it of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy has evaporated like early morning dews as the final arbiter of sporting disputes, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has indicated that it will issue its verdict only after the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North American countries of United States of America (USA), Canada and Mexico this summer.
This is even as CAS has officially announced the denial of the fast-track appeal regarding the AFCON 2025 final, signaling a significant delay in the resolution of the dispute.
According to investigative journalist Romain Molina, CAS will postpone the final verdict until after the 2026 World Cup in the United States, a move that ensures the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the tournament will persist through the summer.
“As expected, there will be no fast-track procedure at the TAS, and the verdict of Morocco – Senegal will be known after the World Cup,” Molina confirmed on X.
Senegal filed the appeal to overturn the CAF Appeal Board’s decision, which, in a strict application of Article 84 of the CAF Regulations, declared the Senegalese National Team to have forfeited the match.
This ruling recorded the final result as a 3-0 win for Morocco, despite the match originally concluding 1-0 for Senegal following a dramatic 17-minute walk-off triggered by the referee’s decision to award the Atlas Lions a penalty in the dying minutes of the game.
CAS’s verdict is largely expected to come after this summer’s World Cup.
But whatever the eventual outcome, this case represents a definitive crossroads for African sport as the CAS verdict will either restore the on-pitch result or cement Morocco’s championship title, finally concluding a saga that has completely gripped the continent’s football community.
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