CAS begins Senegal AFCON title appeal hearing with verdict still pending

The Court of Arbitration for Sport began hearing Senegal's appeal over the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title in Lausanne on Thursday, October 8. Hespress reported that lawyers for the parties appeared as the dispute moved before a three-member panel. The hearing does not itself settle whether Senegal can overturn the decision awarding the championship to Morocco.

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CAS director general Matthieu Reeb said proceedings were following a timetable agreed by the legal teams, according to Hespress. He ruled out a decision on Thursday or Friday and said an award could take days or weeks, depending on the panel's deliberations. That leaves the timing of a final resolution uncertain, rather than tying it to the close of oral arguments.

The appeal challenges a CAF Appeal Board ruling published on March 17. In its official statement, CAF said Senegal had breached Article 82 of the tournament regulations and declared the final forfeited under Article 84. The board upheld the Moroccan federation's appeal, set aside the earlier disciplinary decision and recorded the match as a 3-0 victory for Morocco.

That administrative result replaced Senegal's 1-0 victory on the field in Rabat. BBC Sport reported that Senegal players left the pitch during protests over a late penalty awarded to the hosts. Play subsequently resumed, Brahim Diaz failed to convert the penalty and Pape Gueye scored in extra time. Senegal then challenged the later ruling that removed the title it had celebrated in January.

SuperSport's account of CAS's operational note identified the arbitrators as panel president Gérald Simon of France, Luigi Fumagalli of Italy and Ulrich Haas of Germany. The parties agreed that proceedings would be in French. They did not request a public hearing, leaving the case to be heard behind closed doors without the media present.

CAS had already said deliberations would begin after the hearing and had declined to give a date for its decision, SuperSport reported. Thursday's proceedings therefore mark a further stage in Senegal's challenge, not a new judgment on the final. The existing CAF ruling is the decision under appeal; no replacement outcome has been announced.