-myKhel Team

Idrissa Gueye has strongly criticised the decision to strip Senegal of the Africa Cup of Nations title and hand it to Morocco, insisting the result on the field should stand. The Everton midfielder says the Lions of Teranga remain champions in the eyes of supporters, regardless of the Confederation of African Football’s official ruling.

CAF confirmed last week that Morocco are now recorded as 3-0 winners of the AFCON final, after a disciplinary panel applied Article 82 of the competition regulations. That article states that any side that refuses to continue a match, or leaves the pitch without permission before full-time, must be removed from the tournament.

The storm centres on a chaotic ending to regulation time in the AFCON decider, played two months ago in Senegal’s favour. Several Senegal players, already angered after Ismaila Sarr had a goal disallowed, walked towards the tunnel when El Hadji Malick Diouf conceded a late penalty for holding Brahim Diaz inside the area.

After a long stoppage, Senegal’s squad eventually returned to complete the match, and the AFCON final continued with Morocco’s spot-kick. Diaz attempted a Panenka penalty, but Edouard Mendy read the effort, stayed central, and caught the ball, keeping the game goalless and setting up a dramatic extra-time period.

Once the Africa Cup of Nations final reached extra time, Senegal found the breakthrough. Pape Gueye scored the only goal of the contest, sealing a 1-0 victory over hosts Morocco. The match had been tense and ill-tempered, but Senegal’s players and fans celebrated what they saw as a hard-earned continental title.

Morocco then lodged an official appeal to CAF, arguing that Senegal’s temporary walk-off meant the regulations had been broken. The disciplinary bodies later agreed, annulling the on-field 1-0 result. Instead, the Africa Cup of Nations final is now recorded as a 3-0 victory for Morocco, by administrative decision rather than play.

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Multiple high-profile figures in African football have condemned the ruling. Former Liberia forward and 1995 Ballon d’Or winner George Weah is among those who voiced concern over the Africa Cup of Nations outcome being altered in this way. Some Senegal players replied on social media by sharing images of their AFCON winner’s medals.

Gueye defends Senegal AFCON triumph over Morocco

Gueye believes that the football itself carries more weight than any official adjustment to the Africa Cup of Nations record. The midfielder argues that Senegal’s performance across the AFCON final showed a team that earned the trophy through effort and discipline, regardless of arguments about the brief walk-off incident in regulation time.

Gueye said: “I think this decision is just ridiculous. We won the game on the pitch, not in the offices, and as a Senegalese player, I’m just proud of what we did,” Gueye said. “We deserve this trophy. We fought on the pitch, and everyone knows what happened. I think if we played this game 10 times, we would win it 10 times. Not because we are better than Morocco, but because it was our destiny – we gave everything on the pitch, and we deserve to be champions.”

The midfielder also stressed that the official medals and records are secondary to what happened during the Africa Cup of Nations match itself. “We really don’t care about medals, about trophies, because the most important thing is on the pitch, not what you write on paper. On the pitch, we won it, and no one can change this.”

Global image of AFCON and Africa Cup of Nations concerns

Gueye fears the CAF decision harms how the Africa Cup of Nations is viewed around the world. The midfielder worries that adjusting such a major result away from the pitch could affect credibility when AFCON is measured against other continental championships, such as competitions in Europe or South America.

He underlined that point by warning how the situation might influence wider debates about football standards. “Africa doesn’t need this type of decision because everyone has started to talk about AFCON and compare it against Europe and the Copa America. I think Africa doesn’t deserve this.” For Gueye and many others, the controversy leaves a lasting question over this AFCON edition.

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