March 18 (Reuters) - Senegal's national team players have ridiculed the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) decision on Tuesday to strip them of their Africa Cup of Nations title.
Morocco were declared Africa Cup of Nations champions after Senegal were ruled to have forfeited the game in Rabat on January 18 because they walked off the pitch in protest at a potentially decisive penalty awarded against them.
They returned after 14 minutes to win the match 1-0 courtesy of a Pape Gueye goal in extra time. CAF's Appeal Board replaced that result with a 3-0 victory for Morocco late on Tuesday.
Senegal's players responded with jokes and sarcastic comments on social media.
Midfielder Pathe Ciss posted a picture of him holding the trophy and celebrating on X, saying "you can give the crybabies three more goals" with a laughing emoji attached. Midfielder Mamadou Lamine Camarasaid "Who will come and collect our medals?" and asked when the Moroccan parade was planned.
Centre back Moussa Niakhate posted an image from the aftermath of the final, writing "This is not AI, this is real," while defender El Hadji Malick Diouf said "This trophy is won on the pitch, not by email." Forward Boulaye Dia added "You don't create emotions; you have to experience them."
Midfielder Idrissa Gueye took a more philosophical approach on Instagram. "Titles, trophies, medals – all of that is fleeting. What really matters is that every fan can go home to their families... We know what we lived that evening in Rabat. And no one can take that away from us," he wrote.
The Senegalese Football Federation have condemned the decision to strip them of their title, calling it "unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable", while the country's government on Wednesday urged an independent international investigation into CAF.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation acknowledged the decision and reiterated that the appeal was aimed solely at having the competition regulations properly applied. CAF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk and Vincent Daheron in ParisEditing by Christian Radnedge)
