Claude Le Roy - Photo: BBC
The decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to award the Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco by default (3-0), two months after the final, has sent shockwaves through the sport, leaving no one indifferent. Reacting to this thunderbolt that has fallen like a guillotine blade on the head of the Senegalese national team, Claude Le Roy denounces a 'farce' of a decision that is merely the culmination of major 'backroom dealings.'
According to the 'White Wizard,' everything was orchestrated to hand the trophy to Morocco on a silver platter. 'I could not have imagined for a single second that CAF could go this far into the realm of farce,' thundered the former national team coach from the outset on the set of L'ÉQUIPE. Before adding: 'But then again, when you see how CAF is run by Mr. Motsepe, who is ultimately the vassal of Infantino, who absolutely wanted to give this cup to Morocco from the very beginning.'
On a sporting level, while Le Roy acknowledges Morocco's qualities during the tournament, he believes the final belonged to the Lions of Teranga. 'Morocco had a great Africa Cup and deserved to win, but in the final, it was Senegal who were the better team,' he emphasizes, astonished that two months later, CAF has decided to rewrite history, disregarding the truth on the pitch. 'This decision, according to Claude, will make the entire football world laugh.'
Much like CAF, FIFA president Gianni Infantino also came in for heavy criticism. According to Claude Le Roy, it is Infantino who is infantilizing the leaders of the African confederation in order to discredit the continent's football. 'For years, all decisions have been trampled on by CAF. I have often highlighted the behavior of Mr. Infantino, who sees himself as the Trump of African football, as if he had all the rights. He runs the final stages,' he denounces.
'Can you imagine him running a European Championship final to the detriment of the UEFA president? No! In Africa, he allows himself everything. I think behind all this there have been plenty of backroom deals to ultimately decide that Morocco is champion,' adds Le Roy, who hopes Senegal will use all avenues of appeal to denounce 'this pitiful decision by CAF.'
'I think this is not over and that Senegal will have its rights restored at the end of this whole story. There will be an appeals commission since this is a first decision. After that, depending on the appeals commission's decision, it will obviously go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS),' he concludes.
Commentaires (13)
Participer à la Discussion
Règles de la communauté :
💡 Astuce : Utilisez des emojis depuis votre téléphone ou le module emoji ci-dessous. Cliquez sur GIF pour ajouter un GIF animé. Collez un lien X/Twitter, TikTok ou Instagram pour l'afficher automatiquement.