CAF president admits African football struggling with trust issues

CAPE TOWN, March 18 : African football remains plagued by trust issues and questions over its integrity, Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe said on Wednesday after Senegal was stripped of the Africa Cup of Nations title.

But he defended the decision of his organisation’s Appeal Board to award the Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco after upholding their protest over the outcome of the January 18 final.

Senegal, who won the match in Rabat 1-0, had walked off for 14 minutes at the end of the regulation time in protest of hosts Morocco being awarded a penalty but returned to win in extra time.

While Morocco's initial protest had been rejected by CAF’s Disciplinary Board, the same governing body's Appeal Board found Senegal had transgressed tournament regulations by staging a walkoff and handed Morocco the title.

“I previously expressed my extreme disappointment with the incidents that took place at the final," Motsepe said in a video statement released on Wednesday.

"It undermines the good work that CAF has done over many, many years to ensure that there's integrity, there's respect, there's ethics, there's governance, as well as the credibility of the results of our football matches.

“We are still dealing with suspicion and mistrust. It's a legacy issue. When I became president, one of the major concerns was the impartiality, independence and the respect of referees and match commissioners, and a lot of good work has been done,” he insisted.

RESPECT AND INTEGRITY

Motsepe highlighted that both of CAF’s disciplinary and appeal boards were independent entities made up of legal practitioners chosen with the help of member associations.

“It is important that the decisions of our Disciplinary Board and