…Predicts Senegal Victory at CAS
Chetanne Chinelo, Enugu
A Nigerian sports lawyer and President of the Rangers International Football Club of Enugu, Barr. Amobi Ezeaku, has expressed strong confidence that Senegal will triumph at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in their appeal against the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) controversial decision to strip the Teranga Lions of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and award it to Morocco.
The ruling, delivered on March 17, 2026, overturned Senegal’s 1-0 extra-time victory in the final played in Rabat on January 18, after CAF’s Appeal Board ruled that Senegal had forfeited the match by walking off the pitch in protest over a stoppage-time penalty awarded to Morocco.
In an analysis on Channels TV when asked what the likely outcome of the CAS appeal would be, Ezeaku noted that his immediate reaction to CAF’s decision was that of shock “because I’m among those sports lawyers who believe that sporting merit must be enthroned as against winning at the boardroom”.
‘High Chances’ of Senegal Winning at CAS
“I can tell you that we have high chances of Senegal winning at the Court of Arbitration for Sports because Articles 82, 83 and 84, quoted by the Appeal Board of CAF, upon which their decision was reached, for us, were erroneous. What that decision tried to do is to expunge completely the referee’s authority as embedded in Law 5 of the IFAB,” he stated.
Match Played in Morocco, Under Moroccan Security
Arguing that the referee couldn’t have made his decision based on the concern of his [the referee] security, the lawyer reinforced this point, arguing that CAS would scrutinize the referee’s match report.
“If the referee says in his report, for instance that ‘I continued the game because of safety’, what was the final score recorded in the referee’s report? That’s what the Court of Arbitration will also ask,” the President of Rangers Club explained.
Addressing the context of the match itself, he noted that the game was played in Morocco before their home fans, under Moroccan government security.
“The game we are talking about was played in Morocco, before their teeming fans. They provided security under the government of Morocco,” he said.
He also recalled incidents during the AFCON that went unaddressed, including Moroccan fans attempting to distract the Super Eagles goalkeeper.
“We saw Moroccans going to the goal post of the Super Eagles goalkeeper to distract him. We saw all of these, we never spoke about it. I don’t think any nation should bully the other when it comes to sporting contests. It doesn’t matter how financially buoyant you are or how you think you’re perceived around the sporting world,” he added.
2019 CAS Precedent Favours Senegal
Citing a previous CAS ruling, the lawyer noted that boardroom victories have been discouraged in modern sports jurisprudence.
“In a CAS decision of 2019, Wydad Athletic Club and CAF against Espérance Sportive de Tunis, they held that boardroom points should be frowned at. Why the decision is raising dust is that it is strange in modern sports architecture for boardroom points to begin to emanate again. If we stretch this so far, there will never be an end to sports,” he concluded.
Motsepe Promises to Respect CAS Decision
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has reaffirmed his commitment to respect the eventual CAS decision, stating on March 18: “We will adhere to and respect the decision that’s taken at the highest level”.