Senegal call for inquiry into alleged 'corruption' after unprecedented ruling hands Morocco the Africa title

An independent investigation into alleged "corruption" has been called for by the Senegalese government after the nation was stripped of their Africa Cup of Nations title.

The CAF announced on Wednesday that Morocco had been crowned the AFCON champions following an investigation into Senegal's refusal to play for 17 minutes due to a controversial mid-match protest of a VAR review during the final.

The AFCON final took place in January and ended in a 1-0 win to Senegal, however, the final minutes of the match were nothing short of chaotic and controversial.

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A stoppage-time VAR review ended in a lengthy protest by Senegal as Morocco had a chance to nail the first goal of the game. It took 17 minutes for Senegal players to accept the ruling as they walked off the field in protest of the decision. A brawl also broke out simultaneously in the stands. In the end, the penalty shot was taken and saved by Senegal's goalkeeper.

Despite allowing the final to continue, African football's governing body has made the unprecedented decision to overturn the result after Pape Gueye scored what then appeared to be Senegal's tournament-winning goal in extra time.

An initial disciplinary hearing later in January saw Senegal and Morocco players hit with over $1.4 million worth of fines for various incidents during the match.

Senegal manager Pape Thiaw was slapped with a five-game ban and $140,000 fine for his role in leading the extra time protest, while two of his players also received two-match bans due to their behaviour when speaking with match officials.

It should be noted that those bans will be actioned during CAF sanctioned games, meaning the trio are all eligible to represent the nation at the FIFA World Cup.

Yet 58 days after the tournament came to an end, the controversial walk-off performed by Senegal has now been recognised as a breach of tournament regulations.

Morocco's football federation lodged an official appeal into the final result as they felt the penalties handed out to their players did not equate fairly to others of a similar nature.

The controversial walk-off was then recognised as a breach of tournament regulations.

As per the regulations, if for any reason a "team refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of a match without the authorisation of the referee, it should be considered the loser."

The CAF appeal board confirmed that Senegal was in breach of this rule on Wednesday, meaning the result would now be recorded as 3-0 in favour of Morocco.

But the Senegalese government believe the decision was "deeply unjust".

"This unprecedented decision, of exceptional gravity, directly contravenes the cardinal principles underpinning sporting ethics, foremost among which are fairness, loyalty and respect for the truth of the pitch," the government statement said.

"It stems from a manifestly erroneous interpretation of the regulations, leading to a grossly unlawful and profoundly unjust decision.

"By calling into question a result achieved at the end of a match that was duly played to its conclusion and won in accordance with the rules of the game, CAF is seriously undermining its own credibility as well as the legitimate trust that the African people place in the continent's sporting institutions."

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Senegal then called for an "independent international inquiry into allegations of corruption within the governing bodies of CAF."

CAF president Dr Patrice Motsepe insists the investigation was done to ensure "integrity, respect, ethics, governance, as well as credibility of the results of football matches."

"Not a single country in Africa will be treated in a manner which is more preferential or more advantageous or more favourable than any other," he said.

Morocco are now two-time champions of Africa.