Senegal on Wednesday called for an "independent international investigation" into “suspected corruption” following the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) decision to strip the country of its Africa Cup of Nations title and award it to Morocco.
The cause of the controversy stemmed from several Senegalese players walking off the pitch in Rabat during the final on January 18 in protest when the host nation were awarded a penalty late in second-half stoppage time.
After Senegal's players eventually returned having been coaxed back onto the pitch by captain Sadio Mane, Morocco missed the penalty and Pape Gueye went on to score the goal in extra time that gave his team a 1-0 victory.
But on Tuesday CAF sensationally reversed Senegal's win, citing regulations about leaving the field.
‘Undermines own credibility’
"By calling into question a result achieved at the end of a match that was properly played and won in accordance with the rules of the game, the CAF seriously undermines its own credibility", government spokeswoman Marie Rose Khady Fatou Faye said in a statement.
"Senegal unequivocally rejects this unjustified attempt at dispossession" she said, while calling for "an independent international investigation into suspected corruption within the CAF's governing bodies".
CAF said that having studied an appeal by Morocco, "the Senegal national team is declared to have forfeited the match" and the result was "officially recorded as 3-0" in favour of Morocco.
In her statement, Faye called the matter "a grossly illegal and profoundly unjust decision"
"Senegal will pursue all appropriate legal avenues, including before the competent international courts, to ensure that justice is served and that the primacy of sporting results is restored", she said.
Appeal decision
The Senegalese football federation had said earlier Wednesday they will appeal "as soon as possible" to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
"The Senegalese Football Federation condemns this unjust, unprecedented and unacceptable decision, which brings African football into disrepute," it said in a statement.
