This end of the match and this scene will undoubtedly continue to be talked about for a long time. And perhaps set a precedent in football history. Sunday evening, during the final of the African Cup of Nations in Rabat (Morocco), part of the Senegalese team, harangued by their coach Pape Thiaw, left the field in protest of an arbitration decision.
A grotesque scene which gave rise to a long interruption of play, between the moment when Jean-Jacques Ndala awarded a penalty to Morocco (90th +8) and the moment when this penalty was missed by Brahim Diaz (90th +24). The day after this match, and while jubilant Senegal celebrates its heroes, one question remains: do the Senegalese have anything left?
From the outset it must be said: it is highly unlikely that the outcome of the match will be called into question. The match resumed, the Senegalese won in overtime and the result was approved. Nothing in the regulations, neither of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) nor of the IFAB (International Football Association Board) suggests that this can be changed.
CAF could have given Senegal “loser and definitively eliminated”
However, both CAF and IFAB provide sanctions if a team or players were to leave the field. In articles 64 and 82 of its regulations, the organizer of the competition provides: “If, for any reason, a team withdraws from the competition or does not show up for a match, except in cases of force majeure admitted by the Organizing Commission, or refuses to play or leaves the field before the legal end of the match without the authorization of the referee, it will be considered a loser and will be definitively eliminated from the current competition.”
In IFAB law 12, “faults and incorrectness”, the fact of “deliberately leaving the field without the authorization of the referee” is punishable by a warning. But the fact of doing so in protest of an arbitration decision is an aggravating factor. Still in Law 12, chapter 4 (disciplinary measures), “deliberately leaving the technical area to indicate disapproval or complaining to a referee/acting in a provocative or offensive manner” is punishable by exclusion. »
Having been sanctioned on the field this Sunday evening, the Senegalese must expect to be sanctioned in the coming weeks. The president of Fifa, Gianni Infantino, in fact called, this Monday, “the competent disciplinary bodies of the CAF (Confederation of African Football)” to take “appropriate measures”. In his press release, Infantino indicates: “We strongly condemn the behavior (…) of some Senegalese players and members of the technical staff. It is unacceptable to leave the field in this manner, and violence cannot be tolerated in our sport; it is simply unacceptable. We must always respect the decisions made by the referees, on and off the field. “Teams must play in accordance with the Laws of the Game, as any other behavior jeopardizes the very essence of football.”
“The deplorable scenes we witnessed today must be condemned and never repeated,” he added. Pape Thiaw and his family must therefore expect sanctions which could possibly apply during the next World Cup where Senegal will play in the same group as the France team.
