The Court of Arbitration for Sport has denied any premature verdict in the Senegal-Morocco case and announced its full, reasoned award for the end of November 2026. A clarification that responds to claims by commentator Anass Izem that the decision had already been made.
The proceedings are ongoing, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reminded everyone of that in a statement relayed on 19 October by SeneNews. It confirms that its full, reasoned award will be delivered at the end of November 2026. The institution thus denies any decision already taken, after a fresh controversy erupted over Anass Izem’s claims.
A CAN final that became a legal case
The dispute pits the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF), the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) against one another. The hearing, held behind closed doors on 8 October in Lausanne, brought the three parties before an arbitration panel chaired by French jurist Gérald Simon. He is joined by Luigi Fumagalli and Ulrich Haas, appointed by the FRMF and the FSF respectively, according to Medias24.
The CAN final, played in Rabat on 18 January 2026, had ended in a 1-0 Senegalese win on the pitch. Contesting a penalty awarded to Morocco in stoppage time, the Senegalese had briefly left the field for around fifteen minutes.
CAF’s appeal jury ruled on 17 March 2026 that Senegal had forfeited the match (0-3), on the basis of articles 82 and 84 of the regulations. The FSF condemned the measure as a blatant injustice before taking the case to the supreme court in Lausanne, the CAS.
More than eight months after that final, the case remains open.
A full, reasoned award expected at the end of November
The CAS specified that the arbitration panel had begun its deliberations and was actively pursuing them. The arbitrators chose to issue a complete decision, including the legal grounds, known as a “CAS award”. The statement is precise on the timetable: “This process will take several weeks and the CAS award is expected at the end of November 2026.”
Once delivered, this award will be final and enforceable as far as sports litigation is concerned.
What awaits both camps
The next milestone is therefore set: publication of the final, reasoned arbitration award by the end of November 2026.
The controversy sparked by Anass Izem’s remarks, in which he claimed the decision had already been made, is thus contradicted by the CAS’s communication, which speaks of deliberations in progress.
Until then, the case remains pending, and the publication of the CAS’s grounds will be the next element to examine.