Pap Thiaw and Senegal's Kalidou Koulibaly hold the trophy at the end of the final in Rabat, Morocco // Photo: reuters.com.
The video shows the Senegalese mentor holding the trophy while surrounded by armed soldiers. The authenticity of the footage has not been confirmed.
“Defending what is rightfully theirs.”
Should the authenticity of the video be confirmed, an unprecedented event in African and world soccer can be said to have taken place. Never before has a soccer team been stripped of a Post Factum trophy and as a result, no national team has ever held a trophy taken away at the request of the losing side.
One of the accounts that posted the video reports that the trophy is placed in the very center of the military camp. “Senegalese defend what is rightfully theirs,” the caption to the video reads.
Is there any reason to react?
There were no official comments on the possible national team demarche from either the Senegalese Federation or the Confederation of African Football (CAF) at the time of writing.
Apparently, the authenticity of the video and the seriousness of the intentions of the coaching staff of the Senegalese national team are now being established. But the very fact of such behavior by a side that does not agree with the confederation’s decision causes serious concern in soccer circles not only in Africa, but around the world.
Logos Press previously reported that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has approved Morocco’s appeal on the result of the final match of the African Cup of Nations, held on January 18. Morocco considered as a gross violation of the rules of the tournament the behavior of the national team of Senegal, who left the field in protest against the appointment of an unfair, in their opinion, penalty. CAF agreed with this and made an unprecedented decision to deprive the winners of the tournament trophy.
