Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) arbitrator Raymond Hack has said that he expects the court to rule in favour of Senegal. This comes after the nation appealed the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeal Board verdict, which stripped them of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title.
According to him, because Morocco failed to lodge a protest prior to the end of the game, and referee Jean-Jacques Ndala kept the game going rather than stopping it, there is no basis for the Appeal Board siding with Morocco.
He added that the Appeal Board has no legitimate basis for overturning the final result.
His words, “No; not at all, because the referee is the final decision on the game and when he blows the whistle for the end of the game, that’s when the game ends.
Yes, the team did go off, but they did come back on – and so did Morocco. When Morocco came on, nobody said: ‘We’re playing extra time under protest’ or anything. They played the 30 minutes – the 15 each way.
Had they said: ‘We’re playing the extra time under protest,’ maybe they would have had something.
In my opinion, I don’t think the Court of Arbitration will uphold the decision of the Appeal Board because there’s precedent to it. In 2019, Wydad were in a similar situation in a CAF club championship, where CAS ruled that the referee’s decision is final. Only a referee can end a game. No matter what happens, only the referee can end it.”
WOW.
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