Senegal parade AFCON trophy amid controversy

Senegal’s national football team paraded the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy before thousands of fans on Saturday, despite the Confederation of African Football (CAF) controversially stripping the country of the title and awarding it to Morocco.

Ahead of a friendly against Peru at the Stade de France, Senegalese players, led by captain Kalidou Koulibaly, took to the pitch with the trophy in a pre-match celebration.

The Senegalese Football Association had announced plans to present the trophy to fans in Saint-Denis, home to a large Senegalese diaspora.

Earlier this week in Paris, Senegal FA president Abdoulaye Fall described CAF’s decision as the most grossly unfair administrative robbery in the history of football and vowed to defend the players’ honour at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland.

CAF’s appeals board ruled that Senegal had forfeited the final after players, led by their coach, left the field in protest when Morocco was awarded a penalty, resulting in a 15-minute stoppage.

As a result, Senegal’s 1-0 extra-time victory was overturned to a 3-0 default win for Morocco.

Senegal has formally lodged an appeal with CAS, insisting the country still considers itself the rightful African champions.