The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has issued a series of decisions that sparked wide debate, after delivering a lighter sanction against Senegal coach Aliou Cissé, rejecting the protest filed by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, and handing suspensions to Achraf Hakimi and Ismael Saibari.
CAF’s disciplinary bodies opted to reduce the punishment imposed on Cissé, in a move seen by many as surprising compared to the initial expectations around the case.
In the same set of rulings, CAF officially turned down Morocco’s protest submitted by the national federation, closing the file without changing the outcome linked to the complaint.
CAF also confirmed bans for Morocco internationals Hakimi and Saibari, meaning both players will be unavailable due to suspension under the confederation’s disciplinary decision.
The decisions, announced together, have drawn criticism from observers who questioned the consistency of CAF’s disciplinary approach, especially with the mix of a reduced penalty on the Senegal coach and firm suspensions for the Moroccan duo alongside the rejection of the federation’s appeal.
