CAS Hears Senegal's AFCON Title Appeal Behind Closed Doors, Says Ruling Will Come in Days

Since CAF's Appeal Board stripped Senegal of the Africa Cup of Nations title in March and Senegal lodged its appeal on March 25, the fight has moved from committee rooms to a courtroom in Lausanne. Today, Oct. 8, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) held the one-day hearing behind closed doors.

CAF, Morocco and Senegal were all represented by lawyers. Senegal's side says the title was won on the pitch. CAF's ruling says it was forfeited.

What the hearing produced

No verdict yet. Reeb told reporters he expects the decision "not today, not tomorrow, but a few days later."

"The facts are set, are clear, and the discussions will be on some procedural issues and legal aspects," he said. He added that the schedule was agreed by all parties and that CAS wants to issue a reasoned award "as soon as possible after the hearing."

He was more cautious in an earlier interview with RMC Sport. A decision could come in days, he said, but writing a complete ruling with legal reasoning could take "a few days or even a few weeks."

The panel is led by French sports law expert Gérald Simon. He is joined by Italian professor Luigi Fumagalli and Ulrich Haas, a Hamburg-based lawyer and University of Zurich law professor.

Morocco's delegation did not speak to the media. Senegal's Abdoulaye Sow said the team was confident. He said he hoped "sports law" would be upheld "for the dignity and honour of Africa."

Leaders of both federations had been expected to skip the hearing. It overlapped with a three-day CAF summit in Cape Verde attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

The match and the ruling

Senegal beat host Morocco 1-0 after extra time in the January final in Rabat. Pape Gueye scored the winner.

The chaos came late in regulation time, when Morocco was awarded a penalty. Senegalese players left the field in protest. Accounts of the stoppage range from 14 minutes to nearly 20. Play resumed once the players returned, and Brahim Díaz missed the penalty. The match went to extra time.

The match also set off violent clashes between Senegal fans and Moroccan police, according to AP.

In March, CAF's Appeal Board ruled that Senegal had broken rules barring teams from leaving the field without the referee's authorisation. It overturned the result and awarded Morocco a 3-0 win and the title.

Senegal called the decision the "most blatant administrative robbery in the history of our sport" and paraded the trophy before fans in Paris at the end of March.

The referee question

The case may turn on the authority of referee Jean-Jacques Ndala of Congo. He restarted the match once Senegal's players came back and saw it through to the end.

Law 5.2 of the Laws of the Game says: "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."

Thibault Ulrich, a sports law researcher at Lausanne University, called CAF's ruling "extremely strict." He said it failed to recognise Ndala's decision to let the match continue.

Per SuperSport, IFAB, the body that writes the Laws of the Game, has a rule suggesting a referee's decision to continue play cannot be overturned even if he erred. CAS's own rules favour respecting referees' decisions unless a referee is shown to be corrupt or acting in bad faith.

CAF's side rests on the rule against leaving the field without permission. Whether a restart by the referee cures the breach is the question the panel now has to answer.

The corruption allegation

On March 18, Senegal's government called for an investigation into suspected corruption at CAF. No such investigation has been announced.

SuperSport also reported that CAF fired lawyer Yassin Osman Robleh of Djibouti two weeks before the ruling for Morocco. He had been responsible for guaranteeing the integrity of CAF's procedures for the previous six years. CAF did not publish its reasons, according to that report.

No source has tied the dismissal to the ruling. Senegal's government has not presented evidence of corruption in the material made public.

What comes next

CAS has set no date. If Reeb's "few days" holds, the winner of the January final could be known within the next week or so. A fully reasoned award could take weeks.

The next AFCON kicks off in June, co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.