• football

‘A shame to African football’

• 4 Hours Ago

Former Namibia Football Association president John Muinjo has labelled the decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 African Cup of Nations title as “shameful”.

Muinjo joins a number of Namibians who have blasted the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over the verdict to award the competition to hosts Morocco, months after a dramatic final took place in that country.

CAF’s Appeals Board stripped Senegal of their title for leaving the pitch during their 1-0 win over Morocco, declaring that the West African nation forfeited the match.

However, Senegal’s players staged a protest before their goal and walked off the pitch after the referee awarded a penalty to Morocco, which Brahim Diaz missed on 20 January.

Morocco have now been declared 3-0 winners of the match following their protest after the competition.

CAF reported that the Senegalese team infringed Article 82 of the AFCON regulations, which states that if a team refuses to play or leaves the ground before the end of the match, or without the permission of the referee, they will be considered losers of the match.

Speaking to Sport Wrap yesterday, Muinjo shared his views on the decision made by the Appeals body.

“Rules are rules and they should be enforced consistently. Even if what CAF did is right, it’s shameful.

“They should be on top of their game at all times and not make a U-turn on a decision that should have been taken correctly 58 days ago,” Muinjo said.

“The referee was supposed to have stopped and ended the game there and then, yet he proceeded, and Morocco agreed to play because they thought they would win on penalties. It’s embarrassing to celebrate winning a trophy today and lose it tomorrow.”

He further stated that by allowing the game to continue, the referee upheld Law 5.2 of the Laws of the Game, which is supreme.

Law 5.2 states: “The decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play, including whether or not a goal is scored and the result of the match, are final.”

NFA acting secretary general Mabos Vries also shared similar sentiments to Muinjo.

“I may not say much right now because I have not read the whole report, but it is surely a strange decision.

“The fact that the teams continued to play until the final whistle means that the match was not abandoned,” Vries reiterated.

Outspoken football commentator Olsen Kahiriri has also questioned CAF’s decision to hand the victory to Morocco.

“I believe that Senegal will have strong grounds on which they can appeal the decision,” Kahiriri said.