CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The African Football Association on Wednesday fined more than $1 million and suspended a Senegalese coach and players from Senegal and Morocco following this month’s disastrous Africa Cup soccer final, which included walk-off protests, fans storming the field and scuffles between journalists.
The sanctions announced by the Confederation of African Football include fines totaling $615,000 for the Senegalese Football Federation and $315,000 for the Moroccan federation for unsporting and inappropriate conduct by players, coaching staff and supporters.
African soccer highlight on January 18th was ruined by Senegalese players Departure led by coach Pape Thiau They protested a penalty given to hosts Morocco late in regulation time. According to the African Confederation, Thiau was suspended from five African games and fined $100,000 for bringing the game into disrepute.
The match restarted after a delay of about 15 minutes, Morocco missed a penalty, and Senegal won the African title 1-0 after extra time.
The hotly contested final in Rabat featured supporters attempting to storm the field, players from Morocco and Senegal scuffling on the sidelines, reporters from both countries fighting in the press area and a bizarre scene in which a Moroccan ballboy attempted to steal the towel that Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was using in an attempt to distract him and help his team win the continental title.
This behavior by the home team’s ball boy resulted in a $200,000 fine from the Moroccan federation. The Moroccan federation is co-hosting the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal and has been under scrutiny for a disastrous African final.
Senegal’s Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr were suspended for two games in Africa, Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi was also suspended for two games and suspended for one game, and Morocco’s Ismael Saibari was suspended for three games and fined $100,000 for unsporting conduct.
Africa’s soccer body rejected Morocco’s appeal to have the result rescinded, and Morocco was declared the winner with Senegal’s walk-off win.
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This article has been corrected to show that the Africa Cup final was on January 18th, not January 23rd.
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