In Senegal, they still can’t believe what happened at the Africa Cup of Nations: “The saddest thing is that it tarnishes African football”

Hours after the decision of the AFCON to strip Senegal of the Africa Cup of Nations and proclaim Morocco as champions, Senegal is still in disbelief at an unprecedented decision. Pape Diop showed the discomfort and anger that his country is experiencing on ‘El Programa de Ortega’.

“When I saw it I thought it was ‘fake news’, it was very hard to believe and now we are a little helpless about what might happen. The people in Senegal are very angry and only talk about this,” he said. “We are all waiting to see what will happen, hopefully after the appeal we will be given victory again. Right now people are very angry and if this happens, it will be very sad for Senegal with all that it has cost us to win it. To have it taken away like that hurts a lot.”

Before the final we started to experience very strange things, two days before the match we were changed from our hotel in Rabat, at the train station there was no security and the players were left unprotected…

Pape Diop, ex jugador senegalés, en ‘El Programa de Ortega’

A huge stain on African football

Senegal has again appealed to the AFCON to have the title won on the field returned to the Federation’s trophy cabinet. “It’s incredible, it would be the first time in history that you have a Cup taken away from you after three months,” he said. “The saddest thing is that it tarnishes African football and AFCON a lot and it doesn’t do us any good because after the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast African football was being more and more respected and this speaks very badly of those who run it,” he said.

Pape Diop, a former player for Espanyol and Levante, experienced the controversial final first-hand and said that before the match there were already situations that made him suspicious. “Before the final we already started to experience very strange things, two days before the match we were changed from Hotel in Rabat, at the train station there was no security and left the players unprotected, we had to endure many things that are not normal for the organization. The referee lost control of everything that happened that day and the consequence is this,” he said.