‘This is not AI’: Why stripping Senegal of Afcon title is a farcical moment in football’s fragile time | OneFootball

How’s your faith in football holding up, then? Perhaps you like celebrating goals. Well, in the era of VAR, it can feel like the authorities are actively seeking to take that away. You might assume that rules should apply equally. Not if you’re Cristiano Ronaldo, the biggest star at the upcoming World Cup, who has seen a two-game ban overturned without precedent that will allow him to start Portugal’s opening games. One of the hosts of that World Cup has been bombing one of the participating teams. And the president of that host country does not think they should play their games there “for their own life and safety”. So, fair enough, the country being bombed does not want to play its games in the country bombing them. But ask Fifa what they think and a spokesperson will point you to the sanctity of its match schedule; nothing to see here. And then there’s just what happened in the Premier League with Chelsea.

There is a brilliant drama/horror currently being shown on the BBC called The Capture, which essentially deals in how footage of live events can be easily manipulated by powerful figures to create an alternate reality. Perhaps you remember the Sunday evening of 18 January, where the Africa Cup of Nations final descended into pure chaos when Senegal stormed off the pitch in protest of hosts Morocco being awarded a controversial late penalty and returned to the changing room for 17 minutes. Maybe you saw Brahim Diaz fluff the resulting penalty by attempting a Panenka, then Pape Sarr score a sensational goal to win the match for Senegal in extra-time, followed by the post-match scenes of yet more chaos. You remember Sadio Mane, having urged his team-mates to return in an admirable display of leadership, lifting a second Afcon trophy and Morocco’s deep, haunting anguish at what they had lost, right?

Senegal’s Sadio Mane lifts the Africa Cup of Nations - a trophy that will now be awarded to Morocco (AP)

Well, the records now show that Morocco won 3-0, actually. The Confederation of African Football (Caf) Appeal Board ruled on Tuesday night, two months after the event, that Senegal had forfeited the final when they walked off in protest. And, hey, rules are rules, and according to Article 82 and 84 of Caf’s regulations, it should have been declared immediately that Senegal eliminated themselves from the tournament when they left the field of play, with Morocco announced as the champions. But that also ignores the environment and atmosphere the Afcon final was played under, with questionable refereeing decisions in some of Morocco’s matches an established theme before kick-off. Senegal were already incensed by being denied a late winner at the other end.

Were Senegal’s actions after Morocco were given a penalty right? No, and it is correct to say they could have made a dangerous precedent by abandoning the pitch in protest. “We witnessed unacceptable scenes on the field and in the stands - we strongly condemn the behaviour of some ‘supporters’ as well as some Senegalese players and technical staff members,” Fifa president Gianni Infantino said afterwards. “It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner, and equally, violence cannot be tolerated in our sport, it is simply not right.” If Caf, who initially vowed that “appropriate action” would be taken, had a decision to make, Fifa had let them know which one they would be pushing for.

But Senegal did return to the pitch, they won - that happened. When Caf’s decision was announced, some of Senegal’s players took to social media to post pictures of their trophy celebrations from January, holding their gold medals that will soon have to be returned up to the camera as if proof of its existence. “This is not AI, this is real,” said the centre-back Moussa Niakhate, alongside a picture of him celebrating with the Afcon trophy. Senegal will be appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) in Switzerland and Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, the Secretary General of Senegalese Football Federation, said the “truth and law” is on Senegal’s side. “This is a travesty; this decision is based on absolutely nothing. It has no legal foundation,” Sow claimed. “From what we saw this morning when the hearing began, we already had serious doubts clearly, the judge did not come to rule on the case, he came to carry out orders.”

And this will rumble on - perhaps to paraphrase the iconic Mitchell and Webb football sketch: “It will never be finally decided who has won the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations”. But by overturning the result of an entire tournament two months later, that is what the Caf Appeal Board has opened up, a chasm for doubt and post-truth. We have enough of that in the real world. In football, this is another farcical moment, in an increasingly fragile time.