In a surprising turn of events, the appeals jury of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) awarded the championship title to Morocco in a secret decision, taking it away from Senegal, two months after a chaotic final. In addition to this historic decision, the body reviewed and reduced several of the sanctions that had initially been imposed on the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF). The decision, announced this Tuesday, represents a true earthquake in African football. Besides losing the title, Senegal saw its rival and host country of the competition benefit from a general easing of penalties resulting from the incidents in the final. One of the revised sanctions concerns Ismael Saibari. The Moroccan midfielder, who had initially been suspended for three official CAF matches for unsportsmanlike behavior and fined €83,000 for intimidating Yehvann Diouf, saw his penalty altered. The appeals jury, while confirming that the player "is guilty of misconduct," reduced the suspension to two official matches, one of which is suspended, and annulled the monetary fine. This is pure MADNESS, an unbelievable scene as the Moroccan player Ismael Saibari tries to steal the Senegalese goalkeeper Mendy's towel; fortunately, there was a Senegalese player there to keep hold of it! They tried everything and they failed, but Senegal came prepared!!! pic.twitter.com/hp Rj GMYR1i The FRMF also saw some of its fines reduced. The sanction related to the behavior of the ball boys, who even knocked Diouf down, was decreased to €43,315, although the jury confirmed the Moroccan federation's responsibility in the incident. However, not all appeals were successful. The appeal regarding "interferences around the OFR/VAR review area" was rejected, maintaining the fine of $100,000 (€83,000). All other requests were also denied. In reaction to the loss of the title in the secret decision, the Senegalese federation described the situation as "an unfair, unprecedented, and unacceptable decision that discredits African football." The entity also announced that it will appeal "as soon as possible" to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
One of the Ismael Saibari remains central to this story.
One of the Ismael Saibari remains central to this story.
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