CAF bans Senegal coach Pape Thiaw after AFCON final walk-off

Senegalese coach Pape Thiaw has been suspended for five games and fined 100,000 dollars by the Confederation of African Football due to an instance of unsporting behavior when he told his team to walk off the field in the Cup of Nations final against Morocco.

The federation of Senegal was also fined 615,000 dollars by CAF because of the conduct of the team and the conduct of their fans, and two Senegalese players, Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr, were suspended because of unsporting behaviour towards the referee.

But the Disciplinary Committee of CAF rejected the request of Morocco to have the outcome of the match revised when Senegal players walked off the field, resulting in a 14-minute game delay.

The sanctions imposed on hosts Morocco also included fines amounting to $315,000 as a result of the actions of the ball boys on the field, the actions of their players and staff in the Video Assistant Review arena and the use of lasers by fans.

Moroccan captain Achraf Hakimi (two CAF games, one a one-year ban due to unsporting behaviour) and Ismael Saibari (three CAF games) were suspended due to unsporting behaviour as they attempted to pull the pitch-side towel of Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy in the driving rain in Rabat.

Thiaw, the Senegal coach, had instructed his players to exit the field towards the end of the game when they had a goal disallowed, and minutes later, Morocco were given a penalty which was eventually missed by Brahim Diaz.

This extra-time goal was a winner in the game that saw Senegal win. The lack of order at the final was the culmination of what had so far been a successful Cup of Nations, which had generated record revenues to CAF.