The captain of Senegal, willing to make a gesture to calm the scandal

CONTEXT:

• The final of this year's Africa Cup of Nations was fraught with controversy as Senegal were ruled to have forfeited the match in the Moroccan capital Rabat on January 18 after players walked off the field in protest against a potentially decisive penalty awarded against them. However, Senegal were back on the pitch after 14 minutes and won 1-0 thanks to Pape Gueye's extra-time goal. The CAF Appeals Committee overturned that result and declared Morocco the winner with the official score of 3-0.

The gesture that Idrissa Gueye, the captain of Senegal, is willing to make

Idrissa Gueye said he was willing to return the championship medals to Morocco in a bid to ease tensions between the two countries. The Everton player believes, however, that his team remains the real winner.

The Senegalese Football Federation has announced that it will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. However, Gueye explained that he does not support this decision. “If it was up to me, I would have told the Federation not to appeal,” he declared.

In an interview with Canal+ following Everton's 3-0 win against Chelsea, Gueye expressed his displeasure at the situation, which he described as “simply ridiculous”.

“I am personally committed to collecting the medals and perhaps returning them to Morocco if that can ease tensions between the two countries,” said the midfielder, who captained Senegal in the final in the absence of the suspended Koulibaly.

Even so, Gueye stood firm: “A football match is won on the pitch. That's what we did in Morocco. We did what we had to do on the pitch and we won that match. We deserve to be the champions of Africa, we are the champions of Africa! Titles are won on the pitch, not on the green table,” said the player.