After calls for calm in Morocco, the President of the Senegalese Football Federation, Abdou Fall, launched a stronger attack on the kingdom, considering that his country was the only one that stood up to Rabat, amid applause from Senegalese officials.
Abdou Fall said in a celebratory statement that “Morocco controls CAF,” and added, “Morocco never imagined that another team could prevent it from winning the title. No country stood up to Morocco like Senegal did.”
The Hotel
Fall discussed in detail the behind-the-scenes of the final from his perspective, confirming that the stay in Tangier was excellent, but the situation changed upon reaching the final.
He said, “Even before qualifying, and before heading to Rabat, I asked Ablaï (i.e., Abdouallah Sow, the Secretary-General of the Senegalese Federation) to conduct a survey. We asked them which hotel we would stay at: they refused to respond. We only learned after qualifying, while preparing to travel. Ablaï then said to me: ‘President, it is impossible for us to stay in this hotel.’ The hotel was in the city center, with a lot of noise. A team of Senegal’s level cannot stay in such conditions.”
Training
Then Abdou Fall spoke about the controversy surrounding the training camp before the final, saying, “They wanted to force us to train at their main camp, the Mohammed VI Complex. When Ablaï told me, I clearly said to him: ‘We will not go.’ The complex is very modern, certainly — there is no camp more advanced than it. Even here in Senegal, we do not have this level of infrastructure. But if you train there, you are completely exposed: your team is vulnerable. Any detail, they will know about it. Then you saw the team arriving in Rabat: no protection, no security. Ablaï then asked me to meet with the President of CAF and the Secretary-General. It is not my habit to chase people, but I went. There, I met Fawzi Lekjaa and the Secretary-General of CAF, and then the President of CAF arrived. I spoke with Fawzi, who always repeated: ‘This is CAF.’ When I spoke to the Secretary-General, he said to me: ‘Morocco did this, Morocco did that.’ At that moment, I understood that they were laughing at me. I left and told Ablaï: ‘We will issue a statement.’
He added, “At 1:30 AM, Fawzi Lekjaa called me: ‘President, what is happening?’ I answered him: ‘President, this is a precautionary measure. Tomorrow we will hold a press conference. We will not play under these conditions.’ He said to me: ‘President, put CAF aside. Tomorrow come see me and I will do what you want.’ He invited me to his office at the Ministry of Finance — Fadiga can testify. When I arrived, I clearly told him: ‘The security conditions for the Senegalese team are unacceptable. There are things that cannot be accepted.’ Immediately, security measures were reinforced. Checkpoints were set up, even kilometers away from the hotel. I also told him: ‘We will not train at the Mohammed VI Complex.’ He responded by letting me choose the stadium we wanted. I requested the Moulay Abdellah auxiliary center. He gave the instructions, and an official statement confirmed that. I then explained to him that they had only given us three tickets for the entire Senegalese delegation, with no possibility of buying more for a team that reached the final. Everything was taken by Morocco. He told me: ‘Prepare a list: some in the VIP lounge, others in the royal lounge.’”
Refereeing
Finally, Abdou Fall concluded his remarks by discussing the refereeing and the controversy surrounding the appointment of the final referee, saying, “The only point where we felt helpless was the refereeing. Two days before the final, we should have known the referee, as it must be announced in the technical committee. When we asked, they said they knew nothing. However, the regulations stipulate a minimum timeframe to refuse a referee. But we received the information only on the night of the final at 10 PM. When Ablaï called them, they offered excuses like: ‘We wanted to protect the referee from pressure.’ But in reality, we know well that this was to prevent any possibility of rejection. During the final, we had prepared a letter of protest and refusal. During the match, we sent the letter to CAF while we were still on the field. No country has ever opposed Morocco to such an extent. Because they hold the position of Vice President of CAF, and have the means, many countries do not dare to oppose them. No one dares to take a stand against them. Morocco controls CAF, we must say this: they hold everything and decide everything. Fawzi Lekjaa is my friend, and he is a citizen. But there are things that are never negotiable. That is why we have reached where we are today.”
