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Former Nigerian international Sam Sodje has weighed in on the ongoing controversy surrounding CAF and its decision to award the AFCON 2025 title to Morocco.
Sodje acknowledged that CAF could be legally justified if its regulations clearly sanctioned teams for leaving the field of play.
However, he stressed that from a football point of view the situation is still very conflictive, especially because Senegal completed the match and achieved victory on the field.
“Let’s put emotions and personal opinions aside. Let’s talk about law. CAF had the right to lose the right the moment Senegal withdrew.”
However, Sodje questioned the consistency of the process, noting that the match continued despite the non-compliance.
“I think the CAF is making a big mistake. They should have just left it.”
He further stressed that Senegal’s strongest argument may lie in the fact that the party was not detained at the time of the incident.
“That is why Senegal goes to CAS because in court they will argue that the game continued.
“If the game was interrupted and lost, then they won’t have a case. But as things stand, Senegal has a chance to win that case because the game continued and they won on the field.
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“They shouldn’t have continued playing, but listen, ‘it’s a but’. I feel like in court it would be based on evidence and not opinions and feelings. They have a chance because the game continued.”
Sodje concluded that any final decision would ultimately depend on evidence and interpretation of CAF regulations, rather than sentiment.
