Sacre des Lions on the green carpet: Senegalese bettors lose everything, Moroccans cash in

The Confederation of African Football has made the resounding decision to award the final victory (3-0) to the Atlas Lions, two months after the acrimonious conclusion of the tournament. The appeals jury felt that the Senegalese players had withdrawn from the pitch to contest a penalty. This interruption, initiated by coach Pape Thiaw, had preceded a resumption of play during which Pape Gueye had nevertheless snatched victory in extra time.

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The response of the Teranga Lions did not take long. Through a vehement statement published on the X network, the Senegalese federation denounced a "iniquitous, unprecedented and unacceptable" sanction that casts real "discredit on African football". In order to defend the rights and interests of its team, the body has confirmed the initiation of an appeal procedure as soon as possible before the Lausanne-based jurisdiction.

For its part, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation has welcomed this verdict favorably. It has specified that its request aimed "solely at requesting the application of the competition regulations" and in no way to call into question the sporting performances. This shift benefits frameworks like Achraf Hakimi and Noussair Mazraoui, while deposing Sadio Mané and several of his teammates from their status as champions.

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The shockwave of this historic turnaround even goes beyond the strictly institutional and sporting framework. As a sign of the validation of this new result by the economic actors, the bookmaker Paddy Power has publicly announced that it will proceed to pay all bets, single or multiple, having predicted a final triumph of Morocco.