Motsepe: “No African Country is Treated in a More Privileged or More Advantageous Manner”

The President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, stated on Wednesday that no African country is treated “in a more privileged, advantageous, or favorable manner.”

Reacting to the decision of the CAF Appeals Committee regarding the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2025), which declared the Senegal national team to have forfeited, with the result officially recorded as a 3–0 victory in favor of Morocco, Motsepe emphasized that the incidents that marred this final “undermine the considerable work carried out by CAF over many years to ensure integrity, respect, ethics, good governance, as well as the credibility of football match results.”

In a video published on CAF’s official website, Motsepe stated: “When I became president, one of the major concerns was the impartiality, independence, and respect of referees, as well as match commissioners, and significant progress has been made” in this regard.

Referring to the decision of the CAF Appeals Committee, Motsepe noted that the independence of the continental body is reflected in the decisions taken by its two bodies, the Disciplinary Committee and the Appeals Committee, regarding the final of the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 between Morocco and Senegal.

“While the CAF Disciplinary Committee issued a decision, the Appeals Committee adopted a completely different position,” he stressed.

“In selecting the members of our judicial bodies, we adopted a different approach, distinct from what prevailed previously,” he continued, noting that CAF invited each member association as well as each of the six regional zones to propose names of recognized judges and respected lawyers.

According to him, “it is essential that the decisions of the CAF Disciplinary Committee, as well as those of the Appeals Committee, be perceived with the respect and integrity that are fundamental to us.”

“If you examine the composition of these bodies, you will find that they include some of the most respected legal experts and magistrates on the continent,” the CAF president said.

“We hold ourselves to very high standards,” he added, specifying that “it is essential for us that supporters and ordinary spectators in each of the 54 African countries, based on their own judgment—and not that of CAF or mine—consider the decisions of our judicial bodies to be fair, honest, and impartial.”

After recalling that CAF takes “very seriously what occurred during the final played in Morocco,” Motsepe concluded: “We have already initiated significant measures to ensure that the areas identified as having shortcomings and requiring improvement are subject to the necessary reforms.”