CAF president Motsepe rejects Senegal’s corruption claim amid AFCON fallout | Soccer News

Senegal’s government alleges corruption at African football’s governing body after AFCON title was awarded to Morocco.

The president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has rejected accusations of corruption by the Senegalese government following the body’s shock decision to strip Senegal of its AFCON title and award it to Morocco.

“If someone wants to take legal action alleging that there is corruption in CAF, I not only welcome it, I encourage them,” said Patrice Motsepe in Morocco on Thursday.

“There is nothing to hide. We greatly respect the judicial and legal sovereignty of each of our 54 nations on the African continent.

“I am confident that whatever the decision of CAS will say, we will respect it and we will implement it,” he added, referring to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Motsepe’s visit comes at a particularly tense time for CAF after his surprising decision to Senegal’s 1-0 win overturned against host country Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final on 18 January.

CAF cited regulations on leaving the field as it secured a 3-0 victory in Morocco’s favor on March 17.

During the match, Senegalese players, along with head coach Pape Thiaw and his staff, walked off the pitch in Rabat after Morocco were awarded an additional penalty, which forward Brahim Diaz ended up missing.

The Senegalese Football Federation has CAF’s decision appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The decision provoked a strong reaction from Senegal, whose government called for an international investigation into suspected corruption within the institution.