The controversial decision by CAF to declare Morocco African champions by stripping Senegal of the title has divided opinion, with one football federation president saying the ruling proved Patrice Motsepe was a “Morocco puppet“.
But the president of Botswana’s Football Association (FA), Tariq Babitseng, who is also a member of the Cosafa executive committee (Council of Southern African Football), refused to blame CAF president Motsepe, saying he had nothing to do with the decision.
“People need to be informed or taught that this is not an executive committee decision but it was taken by an independent body which they call a judicial body. The judicial body has independence, unlike administrative issues where the secretary general is the one that’s in control,” Babitseng told Sowetan from Gaborone.
“As a leader, president Motsepe has done well by giving these bodies independence, so I don’t think there’s anywhere where he should be mentioned on these decisions. There’s no way the executive committee, led by Patrice, should be tainted or should be put hand in hand with this decision.”
But another FA president of one of the 14 Cosafa countries, who requested anonymity, fearing reprisals, said this decision will taint Motsepe’s legacy, adding that it will further demonstrate that he was indeed “Morocco’s puppet”.
“President Motsepe has done a lot of good things for African football since he took office in 2021, but this decision to give Morocco Afcon will ruin his legacy,” the FA leader said.
“He’s long been accused of being the puppet of Morocco and people will now think that’s true after this. Yes the Appeal Board is independent, but Motsepe is CAF president, meaning he elected incompetent people in that board.”
In the late hours of Tuesday, CAF shocked the whole world when they announced that Senegal had been stripped of their Afcon title by its Appeal Board for leaving the pitch in the final against hosts Morocco two months ago.
This unprecedented ruling declared Morocco the 3-0 winners of that final, played in Rabat, in January.
“The CAF Appeal Board decided that in application of Article 84 of the Regulations of Afcon, that Senegal be declared to have forfeited the Afcon final with the result of the match being recorded as 3–0 in favour of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF),” the CAF statement read.
Senegal have already confirmed that they will take the matter to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport, seeking to overturn the ruling.
CAF’s Appeal Board members:
President; Justice Roli Daibo Harriman (Nigeria)
Vice; Faustino Varela Monteiro (Cabo Verde)
Panel: Moez Ben Tahar Nasri (Tunisia), Moses Ikanqa (Namibia), Hamoud T’feil Bowbe (Mauritania), Mohamed Robleh Djama (Djibouti), Asogbavi Komlan (Togo), Justice Masauko Timothy Msungama (Malawi), Lubamba Ngimbi Hector (DRC)
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