The Confederation of African Football has reduced itself to a laughing stock. I was utterly stunned to read the farcical verdict of the CAF Disciplinary Board, in which they unjustifiably and wrongly stripped Senegal of its AFCON crown.

This decision came after two long months. Their claim is that the Senegalese football team walked off the pitch during the final.

But they conveniently ignored the poor officiating of the referee. It was clear to everyone that CAF favored Morocco throughout this championship. They tried everything to make the Moroccan team the champion, but God exposed their hypocrisy to the world; now they have reduced themselves to a bunch of incompetent officials.

However, while it was wrong for some members of the Senegalese team and their technical staff to walk off the pitch in protest of the questionable penalty awarded to Morocco, it is equally shameful that the referee denied Senegal a legitimate goal and then wrongly punished them with a penalty.

Did this group of rookie board members have the authority to judge the referee’s actions? Clearly, they did not.

We all witnessed the unsporting behavior of Moroccan fans, they even attacked Senegalese supporters, which is serious. Some Senegalese fans are still languishing in Moroccan prisons, serving sentences ranging from six months to a year for defending themselves. What has CAF done about this? Nothing.

Any justification offered by the CAF Board on this matter is near-nonsense. Senegal should challenge this decision forcefully, and all African football bodies should join in condemning and resisting this unethical and ridiculous verdict by CAF.

By Adama Makasuba