In more than three decades of reporting on African football, I have gone through the entire gamut of emotions: exhilaration over some of the continent’s great moments at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and World Cup; frustration over the errors its governors make; and deep despair, wondering whether its custodians will ever live up to their responsibilities and do their jobs diligently.
The decision on Tuesday, by the appeals committee of the Confederation of African Football (Caf), to strip Senegal of the 2025 Afcon title and hand it to Morocco, leaves me gobsmacked, as it did a former member of the appeals committee. “As a person who was on the appeals board for six years I know it does not have the power to change the on-field decision of a referee. I cannot understand how they came to this disgraceful decision,” he said.
