EXPLAINER: Why Senegal’s AFCON appeal cannot proceed until CAF releases documents

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) may have assured a swift and fair process in Senegal’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations appeal, but a key procedural hurdle means the case cannot yet move forward in full.

Senegal, through the Senegalese Football Federation, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, filed a Notice of Appeal after the Confederation of African Football stripped them of their AFCON title.

CAF has already communicated the rules Senegal was found to have breached and confirmed its decision.

However, that alone is not enough for CAS to proceed with a full hearing.

What is still missing is the complete, reasoned decision from CAF’s Appeals Board, a detailed legal document that goes beyond the verdict to explain how and why the decision was reached.

What CAS said about Senegal’s explosive AFCON appeal

This distinction is crucial. While CAF has issued its ruling, CAS requires a full breakdown of the case, including the facts established, the evidence considered, how the rules were interpreted, and why the specific sanctions were imposed.

It must also outline how any defence presented by Senegal was assessed and rejected.

Without this, CAS cannot properly evaluate whether CAF applied its rules correctly, followed due process, or imposed a proportionate sanction.

For Senegal, the absence of this document makes it impossible to construct a detailed legal challenge.

The FSF cannot identify weaknesses in CAF’s reasoning or respond to specific arguments without seeing the full explanation.

This is why the federation has requested a suspension of the deadline to submit its full appeal brief.

This kind of delay is not unusual in international sports disputes.

In 2020, Manchester City successfully challenged a European ban imposed by UEFA at CAS, but only after UEFA released a detailed ruling outlining its findings under Financial Fair Play regulations.

That document formed the basis of City’s legal arguments.

Similarly, in the case involving World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Russia, CAS proceedings relied heavily on a comprehensive explanation of the sanctions and the evidence behind them before arbitration could properly begin.

Even in African football, CAF-related disputes taken to CAS have followed the same principle, full written decisions must be available before substantive hearings can take place.

CAS Director General Matthieu Reeb has already stressed that the body is “perfectly equipped” to handle the matter and will act “as swiftly as possible,” but such timelines only begin once all required documents are in place.

Until CAF releases its full judicial findings, Senegal’s appeal remains active but effectively paused, filed, acknowledged, but not yet ready for full legal battle.

FKA/JE

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