Caf accepts decision of CAS on Morocco

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has said it will respect the decision of CAS over Morocco's appeal "despite the contradictions" in its ruling.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that Morocco can play in the 2017 Africa Nations Cup qualifiers after it upheld "in large part" their appeal against Caf sanctions.

"The suspension ... of the next two editions of the African Nations Cup, in 2017 and 2019, is annulled, and the fine imposed to the Royal Federation of Moroccan Football is reduced to $50,000," CAS said in a statement on Thursday.

CAF had barred Morocco from the 2015 edition, after the country refused to host the competition citing Ebola virus fears, and also banned them from entering the 2017 and 2019 editions while imposing a fine of $1 million.

In response, Caf said on Sunday, "Meeting in Cairo this day, the Executive Committee of the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) took note of the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) of 2nd April, 2015 in the case brought before it by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF).

"The Executive Committee noted that the CAS established that the Royal Moroccan Football Federation could not invoke "force majeure" in that the Ebola outbreak did not make it impossible for the AFCON to be organized in Morocco. In addition, the CAS admitted that the FRMF was responsible for the violation of Article 7 paragraph 1 a) of the statutes of CAF.

"It should be recalled that the Executive Committee of CAF, in its decision of 6 February, 2015 in Malabo, had already indicated that the force majeure assertion by FRMF could not be accepted and that the Royal Moroccan Federation was guilty of infringing Article 7 paragraph 1 a) of CAF statutes.

"It should also be noted that the CAS considered Morocco's non-participation in AFCON2015 as a sanction. However, the 'A' national team of Morocco qualified for the AFCON because Morocco was the host of the competition. Therefore it automatically lost its qualification for 2015 following the country's decision to renounce the right to organize the tournament.

"The CAS therefore reached the same conclusions as the CAF Executive Committee but decided to annul the sanctions imposed.

"CAF, which joined the authority of the jurisdiction of the CAS, has committed to implementing the decisions and will comply with this ruling despite the contradictions observed in the CAS decision."