Senegal's appeal against CAF's 3-0 award of the title to Morocco is still being deliberated.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Monday that its ruling on Senegal's appeal against the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title decision is expected at the end of November. The court had first indicated that a decision would follow within days of the hearing. It has now chosen to issue a full ruling with legal grounds, known as a CAS Award. "This process will require several weeks," the court said in its statement.
The case goes back to the final in Rabat on January 18, which Senegal won 1-0 after extra time, with a goal from Pape Gueye. The match was still goalless late in normal time when a penalty was awarded against Senegal. Several Senegal players walked off the pitch in protest and returned to the dressing room, and some Senegalese supporters attempted a pitch invasion. When play resumed, Morocco missed the spot kick.
Back in March, CAF, the Confederation of African Football, reversed that result. Its Appeal Board ruled that walking off the pitch constituted a forfeit, and awarded Morocco a 3-0 win and the title.
Senegal lodged their appeal with CAS on March 25. They argue that the referee's decision was final and that he allowed the match to continue. Football's Laws of the Game state that a referee's decisions are final.
The arguments of Senegal, Morocco and CAF were heard behind closed doors at CAS headquarters in Lausanne on October 8. CAS said the panel "have begun and continue their deliberations".
Gerald Simon, a French sports law specialist, presides over the three-member panel, with Luigi Fumagalli, an Italian international law professor, and Ulrich Haas, a Hamburg-based lawyer who also teaches at the University of Zurich, sitting alongside him. The New York Convention, which governs recognising and enforcing foreign arbitral awards, gives the eventual award legal force equal to a national court ruling, and federations or state courts can enforce it.
Speaking outside the hearing earlier this month, CAS director general Matthieu Reeb set out what the panel still had to discuss:
"The facts are set, are clear and the discussions will be on some procedural issues and legal aspects."
Whether CAF's decision holds or Senegal's challenge succeeds will be settled by this ruling, which could potentially bring an end to one of the most disputed controversies in African football.
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