E It does not happen often that a friendly match shakes the very fabric of FIFA; especially not when the opponents are Senegal and Peru. Last Saturday, however, when these two teams met in Paris, it will keep international football busy for even longer.
The Senegalese players used the opportunity to present the Africa Cup of Nations trophy to the fans living in France. They had won it on the pitch at least three months ago – whether they are actually Africa champions or not is currently part of a pending procedure. Accordingly, the president of the Moroccan Bar Association also tried to have the celebration at the Stade de France halted by court order.
As part of the bigger picture, FIFA President Gianni Infantino proclaimed the “Decade of African Football” in 2020. The apex of this era is supposed to be the World Cup 2030, which, like this year’s Africa Cup in Morocco, is to take place there.
Among other things, a FIFA dependency was opened there. And a kind of test balloon was the Africa Cup, the “best ever”—as nearly all officials of the involved federations called it.
Unworthy Squabbling Around the Title
Observers say it was so as well—at least until the final: Morocco and Senegal faced each other. After Senegal had a legitimate goal disallowed shortly before the end and they then received a dubious penalty against them, the players left the field in protest for a quarter of an hour.
Although the game was continued and the Senegalese won, Morocco filed a protest. Surprisingly, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided that Senegal should be stripped of the title and Morocco awarded it. In turn, the Senegalese federation filed an appeal against this decision; the case is now with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
This unworthy squabbling around the title runs counter to Gianni Infantino’s efforts to give the CAS a more professional image. Moreover, Infantino himself has shaken trust in both the African and the world governing bodies when he called for consequences for some Senegalese players after the final.
On the Road to Far-Out Realms
This entire unworthy spectacle is exactly the kind of spectacle that a corrupt and corrupting organization like FIFA under Infantino deserves. While it was busy stroking the egos of despots instead of focusing on the essential fundamentals for running such an event – such as proper referee training – essential basics were missing.
CAS and FIFA now operate in such far-out spheres that one would want to send them a set of coffee mugs bearing the line: What matters is on the pitch. Even such a hackneyed truism seems no longer to be common sense under Infantino.
Oh yes: Senegal won 2-0 against Peru.
