Afcon final madness

He did well not to clatter the fúcks. tryna drag him around by the ankle, hilarious if he had kicked out at them.

This will drag on for a while.

bans and fines fairly evenly distributed …

Senegal coach Pape Thiaw has been handed a five-match suspension by the governing body of African football with players of Senegal and Morocco also banned following chaotic scenes at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final.

Senegal’s final victory on January 18 was overshadowed when their players walked off the pitch before the final whistle and temporarily refused to play on after Morocco were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.

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Thiaw ushered his players off the pitch, leading to a 16-minute delay to proceedings, which had immediately followed Senegal having a stoppage-time goal of their own ruled out.

On Thursday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) issued Thiaw with a $100,000 (£72,000) fine after finding the 44-year-old guilty of “unsporting conduct” and “bringing the game into disrepute”.

Senegal forwards Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr each received two-match bans for “unsporting behaviour towards the referee”.

Morocco’s Ismael Saibari was banned for three games and fined $100,000 (£72,000) while Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi given a two-match suspension, with one game suspended for 12 months, each for “unsporting behaviour”.

All suspensions are specific to CAF-governed matches, so will not be applicable to this summer’s World Cup, organised by FIFA, or international friendlies.

CAF distributed fines totaling over $1million following the incident. The Senegal Football Federation (FSF) was fined $615,000 (£444,000) for breaches of CAF’s disciplinary code, divided between the unsporting conduct of Senegal players and technical staff, the improper conduct of its supporters, and Thiaw’s side receiving five yellow cards during the final.

Separately, Morocco’s football federation (FRMF) was fined $200,000 (£144,000) for the “inappropriate behaviour” of ball boys, who made several attempts to take the towel of Senegal’s goalkeeper Edouard Mendy during the match.

The FRMF was also hit with a $100,000 (£72,000) fine for the “improper conduct of players and staff, who invaded the VAR review area” and a further $15,000 (£10,870) “for the use of lasers by supporters”.

The FRMF’s request to overturn the result of the match due to Senegal’s players leaving the pitch was dismissed by CAF.

CAF’s decisions follow on from FIFA president Gianni Infantino calling for actionafter what he described as “ugly scenes” in Rabat, Morocco’s capital.

Earlier this week, Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Rafael Louzan said the scenes at the end of the AFCON final “damaged world football”. Spain and Morocco, alongside Portugal, are the primary co-hosts for the 2030 World Cup.

TIA

Ridiculous it took 3 months, the rules are very straightforward and the players and staff at this level understand them.

You can argue the decision to continue the game after they walked off, for crowd control and all of that. But this should have been resolved within a week at most thereafter.

Yes but that it took so long reeks all the same.

Yeah, well it's not like there will be any big competition happening in Morocco anytime soon.

Unless, er, oh, yes - 2030 WC!

Senegal have already signalled that they are launching an appeal.

You obviously haven't been paying attention if you think sport isn't full of legal challenges even when the team is guilty as sin.

It does state in the relevant Articles (Copied below) that the Committee refer to for guiding this decision that the committee take the final decision on withdrawals:

CHAPTER 35- WITHDRAWALS

ARTICLE 82

If, for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report for a match, or refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered looser and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition. The same shall apply for the teams previously disqualified by decision of CAF.

ARTICLE 83

A team that shall not be present on the ground, dressed to play at the time fixed for kick-off or at most 15 minutes later, shall forfeit the match. The referee shall register the absence of the team and shall write it in his report. The Organising Committee shall take the final decision in this respect.

ARTICLE 84

The team which contravenes the provisions of articles 82 and 83 shall be eliminated for good from the competition. This team will lose its match by 3-0 unless the opponent has scored a more advantageous result at the time when the match was interrupted, in this case this score will be maintained. The Organising Committee may adopt further measures.

Very clear cut to me and seems they've completed their due diligence in applying the above. The referee registered what occurred in the game in his report and the Committee made their decision based on that. In fairness to the ref, declaring the final of an international tournament as abandoned is a major call with huge implications, including potential to incite crowd trouble.

Granted it took some time to apply the above, but I imagine it could not be done lightly and the Committee needed to apply some caution.

Is there any significance to the use of the word ground vs pitch ? https://www.cafonline.com/media/bl2lhb3v/bm58fa2qjh76asriri5s.pdf

CHAPTER 35- WITHDRAWALS
ARTICLE 82
If, for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report
for a match, or refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the
match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered looser and shall be
eliminated for good from the current competition. The same shall apply for the teams
previously disqualified by decision of CAF.

Not that you'd know it from the wailing and gnashing of teeth that went on at the time. Senegal could do no wrong.

I don't even like Morocco and the way that they (monolith that they are) behaved. But you can't just walk off the pitch because you disagree with a decision and not expect consequences.