Senegal says it plans to appeal the decision by the Confederation of African Football to suspend coach Pape Thiaw for five matches and impose a $100,000 fine, following chaotic scenes at the Africa Cup of Nations final against Morocco earlier this month.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) banned Thiaw for five of its matches and fined him $100,000, it announced on Thursday.
In a statement it said the coach was guilty of "unsporting conduct" and "bringing the game into disrepute" during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) decider in Rabat on 18 January – where Senegal's players left the field during play, apparently after a signal from Thiaw.
Senegal – which won the match 1-0 after extra time – says it intends to appeal the decision.
“Everything that can be done to mitigate this sanction, we will do," the country's Minister for Youth and Sports, Khady Diene Gaye, told reporters following the announcement. "I don't think it's in the interests of our team for its coach to be sitting on the bench – in the stands, that is – for five CAF matches, on top of a financial penalty."
TV coverage of the final showed Thiaw gesturing toward his players when Morocco were awarded a penalty in extra time. The gesture was widely interpreted as him telling his team to leave the field, which they did.
Gaye said the coach had "acted as a true patriot", and that they would "stand by him".
The Senegalese Football Federation can appeal the sanctions either before a CAF commission or the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Victorious Senegal returns home
Fundraiser launched
Pape Bouna Thiaw remains a hero in the eyes of Senegalese supporters, having led the Lions to the second continental title in their history, RFI's correspondent in Dakar reports.
Fans have launched a fundraiser online to help the coach pay the fine, raising 2 million CFA francs of the 54 million needed within hours.
Shortly after, Pape Thiaw requested supporters redirect the money towards more essential causes.
“Your solidarity since the announcement of the sanctions has touched me deeply," Thiaw wrote on his Instagram account.
"However, I humbly ask you not to organise fundraisers in my name. While I understand and appreciate this outpouring of generosity, I invite you to redirect these funds towards more urgent causes, for the benefit of those who truly need them.”
Coaches Regragui and Thiaw have suffered AFCON final heartbreak
Federations fined
Senegalese forwards Illiman Ndiaye and Ismaïla Sarr, who both play in the English Premier League, also received two-match bans for "unsporting behaviour towards the referee".
The Senegalese Football Federation was fined a total of $615,000 for various offences during the final. A fine of $15,000 was levied for “disciplinary misconduct by the national team”, $300,000 for criticism of the CAF by its president Abdoulaye Fall, and a further $300,000 for “inappropriate behaviour of its supporters”.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation, meanwhile, was fined $200,000 for the "inappropriate behaviour of the stadium ball boys".
Moroccan forward Ismael Saibari was handed a three-match ban and a fine of $100,000, while the team's captain and defender Achraf Hakimi was suspended for two matches.
The bans on Thiaw and four players relate only to CAF matches and will not affect preparations by Senegal and Morocco for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
