CAF Opens Disciplinary Inquiry Following Senegal-Morocco U17 Africa Cup of Nations Semi-Final

The CAF opened a disciplinary procedure following the U17 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final between Senegal and Morocco, played on Moroccan soil and won by the Senegalese Lionceaux. The complaint, filed by the Moroccan side, targets Yaya Baldé, an official of the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF).

According to several Senegalese media outlets, including Seneweb and DSports, Baldé is accused of taunting young Moroccan players after the match. He was heard via videoconference by the CAF’s disciplinary commission, as was the FSF’s secretary general, Abdoulaye Sow.

Sources close to the matter, however, shed light on the context of this reaction. Members of the Senegalese technical staff and several players reportedly suffered racist insults from certain supporters in the stands. Baldé’s reaction after the final whistle is said to have come in response to these provocations — this gesture is precisely what the CAF is now examining.

This episode comes amid already highly tense relations between the two federations. Several months after the senior Africa Cup of Nations final, won on the pitch by Senegal before being awarded to Morocco by administrative decision (3-0 by default), the FSF filed a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and the CAF. This appeal is still awaiting a verdict.

The new disciplinary procedure thus adds to an already deep dispute between the two nations, and illustrates the persistence of tensions beyond the sporting sphere alone.