Senegal’s appeal against the decision to strip them of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations title will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne on Thursday.
Senegal beat hosts Morocco 1–0 after extra time in January’s final in Rabat. However, CAF’s Appeal Board overturned the result two months later, awarding Morocco a 3–0 victory after ruling that Senegal had forfeited the match.
The dispute centres on Senegal’s 14-minute walk-off in protest against a late penalty. The players subsequently returned, Morocco missed the spot kick and Senegal scored the winner in extra time.
Senegal lodged their appeal on 25 March, seeking reinstatement as champions. The hearing will take place behind closed doors, with the panel receiving arguments from Senegal, Morocco and CAF.
Senegal are expected to argue that their temporary departure did not constitute abandoning the match, while Morocco are expected to maintain that leaving without the referee’s authorisation amounted to forfeiture.
CAS said deliberations would begin after the hearing, but no ruling would be issued on Thursday. A date for the final decision has yet to be announced.