00:00I've been informed of the ruling by the CAF Appeals Board concerning the appeal by Morocco
00:08relating to the AFCON-Morocco 2025 final match.
00:15And I previously expressed my extreme disappointment with the incidences that took place at the final match.
00:31And the important thing of what happened on that final match is it undermines the good work that CAF has
00:41done over many, many years
00:43to ensure that there's integrity, that there's respect, that there's ethics, that there's governance
00:50as well as credibility of the results of our football matches.
00:55The occurrences, those incidences at the final match of the AFCON-Morocco exposes
01:04is the work that we are still dealing with concerning the suspicion
01:12and distrust. It's a legacy issue.
01:17When I became president, one of the major concerns was the impartiality, the independence
01:26and the respect of referees and match commissioners.
01:31And a lot of good, good work has been done.
01:34But there continues to be suspicion because it's a legacy issue.
01:41It's something that has been there for many, many years and we consistently deal with that
01:47because that's critically important.
01:49Another important matter that these incidences at the final match brought to the fore
01:56is the independence and the respect of our judicial bodies.
02:07We, in choosing the members of our judicial bodies, we followed a different path, different from what had been the
02:17case before.
02:18We invited each member association and we invited every zone, the six regional areas or the six zones in CAF
02:30to give us names of respected judges and respected lawyers because it is important that the decisions of our disciplinary
02:41board, the CAF disciplinary board
02:42and the decisions of the CAF appeals board is viewed with the respect and integrity that's very important to us.
02:50So if you look at the composition of those bodies, they reflect some of the most respected lawyers and judges
02:59on the continent.
03:02But we will still have to deal with this, with the perceptions and the concerns about the integrity.
03:11It's an ongoing issue. We are very clear at CAF that we are enormously committed to ensure that not only
03:22in terms of what we do,
03:24because we've implemented best practices, we've identified judges and lawyers from every region, from every zone,
03:35from the 54 countries in Africa to make sure that these are people who have integrity and have a track
03:45record.
03:46And partly the independence is reflected by the decisions that were taken by the two bodies.
03:54The CAF disciplinary board took one decision. The CAF appeals board took a totally different position.
04:03And I'm told that Senegal is going to appeal, which is very important.
04:10Every one of the 54 nations in Africa have a right to pursue their appeals and their advanced interests,
04:21not only at the highest level in Africa, in CAF, but also the highest body, which is the CAF.
04:30And we will adhere and respect the decision that's taken at the highest level.
04:39A critical factor is that not a single country in Africa will be treated in a manner that is more
04:49preferential,
04:51or more advantageous, or more favourable than any other country on the African continent.
04:57We take what has happened at the final match in Morocco during the AFGON, the Total Energies CAF, Morocco 2025,
05:08we take it very, very seriously. And we have already started with very important steps to make sure that those
05:17areas which have been identified as deficiencies
05:19and where there's need for improvement, that the necessary resolutions are passed.
05:24We have very high standards that we set for ourselves. It is important for us that ordinary football supporters and
05:32spectators in every one of the 54 countries in Africa,
05:36in their judgment, in their judgment, not in CAF's judgment, regard the decisions of our judicial bodies as fair, with
05:46integrity and impartiality,
05:48and what is equally important that they regard our referees, our VAR operators, and our match commissioners as people who
05:57are fair and just,
05:59and those decisions that are taken reflects the impartiality and independence that is critically important.
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