The President of the Confederation of African Football, Patrice Motsepe, said on Sunday that he would “respect” the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Senegal’s appeal against being stripped of its Africa Cup of Nations title.

“I will respect and implement the CAS decision. My personal opinion regarding the matter is irrelevant,” Motsepe told a press conference in Cairo after a meeting of CAF executives.

Senegal’s appeal followed a decision by a CAF appeals body to overturn the 1–0 victory recorded by Senegal over hosts Morocco in last month’s Cup of Nations final.

Several Senegalese players, head coach Pape Thiaw, and his staff walked off the pitch in Rabat after Morocco were awarded an added-time penalty.

After they returned, Brahim Diaz missed the penalty, and Pape Gueye scored in extra time to decide the title.

A CAF disciplinary committee later fined various figures from both teams, but did not alter the result. Morocco subsequently appealed and were awarded a 3–0 victory.

Motsepe stressed that the appeal board comprises independent judges and lawyers.

When Senegal played Peru in a 2026 World Cup warm-up match in Paris on Saturday, they paraded the Cup of Nations trophy. The team also wore shirts bearing two stars — one for their first Cup of Nations triumph in 2022 and the other for the disputed February victory.

Motsepe said he would visit Senegal and Morocco, without giving dates, to emphasise the importance of “working together to grow African football”.

In a statement, CAF said it “is implementing changes and improvements to its statutes and regulations that will strengthen trust and confidence in African referees, VAR operators, and judicial bodies.

“These changes and improvements to the statutes and regulations will also ensure that the incidents that took place at the final … do not happen again,” the statement added.

Motsepe later announced that Nigeria-born CAF official Samson Adamu would become caretaker general secretary of the Cairo-based organisation, replacing the retiring Veron Mosengo-Omba.

Mosengo-Omba, a former FIFA official born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has reached the mandatory retirement age of 66 for CAF staff.