On Saturday at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, the Lions of Teranga Senegal Nationa Team walked onto the pitch before their friendly match against Peru and did exactly what they had promised they showed the Africa Cup of Nations trophy to their people, held it up in the air, paraded it around the ground, and let the Senegalese diaspora packed into the stands roar as loud as they wanted.
Captain Kalidou Koulibaly led his squad in a full lap of honour, while goalkeeper Edouard Mendy held the silverware aloft to thunderous cheers from the stands. The squad even took a formal group photo with the trophy, signalling their refusal to accept the governing body’s recent intervention. Koulibaly and Mendy then walked up to the stadium’s presidential box to place the trophy there for all to see.
Then they went out and beat Peru 2-0. Nicolas Jackson, on loan at Bayern Munich from Chelsea, and Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr scored the goals.
Nobody in that stadium was thinking about CAF’s paperwork.
This public celebration came just ten days after the Confederation of African Football shook the continent by revising the tournament history books.
Here is what happened. Senegal had secured a 1-0 victory on the pitch against Morocco in January’s final in Rabat. But the match had been dramatic coach Pape Thiaw ordered his players to return to the dressing room in protest after a stoppage-time penalty was awarded to the hosts. When they returned 17 minutes later, Pape Gueye scored the extra-time winner.
CAF later ruled the match forfeited following an appeal by the Moroccan Football Federation, awarding Morocco a 3-0 victory. The CAF Appeal Board was explicit: “The Senegal National Team is declared to have forfeited the Final Match of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, with the result of the Match being recorded as 3-0 in favour of Morocco.”
Senegal’s response was swift and defiant. The Senegalese Football Federation branded the decision “the most grossly unfair administrative robbery” in the history of soccer and immediately filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, asking CAS to overturn the ruling and reinstate them as champions. Morocco and CAF will have 20 days to respond after Senegal files the full case. The process could take as long as 12 months.
In the meantime, Senegal made their position clear without saying a word. They played against Peru in a kit with two stars above their badge one for their 2021 title, and one for the disputed 2025 tournament. They consider themselves two-time champions, and they dressed like it.
The choice of Paris as the venue for Saturday’s match was not accidental. Paris has a significant Senegalese diaspora, and the Stade de France in Saint-Denis sits in the heart of a community that bleeds blue and gold. When Koulibaly lifted that trophy, he was not just lifting it for the players. He was lifting it for every Senegalese grandmother in a Paris apartment who stayed up past midnight to watch the January final, and every child who went to school the next morning in Senegal colours.
The fans responded accordingly. The noise inside the Stade de France for that pre-match ceremony was the kind that does not need a scoreboard to explain itself.
Read Also: Senegal Crowned AFCON Champions After Dramatic Final Against Morocco
Not everyone was applauding. Online, the moment split opinion sharply. Some fans pushed back firmly: “Parading a trophy without a valid title changes nothing. CAF has ruled, and Morocco are the official champion. Fancy displays don’t overturn real decisions.” Others accused Senegal of disrespecting CAF’s authority: “Senegal keeps disrespecting CAF at every opportunity walked out of a game the whole world was watching and now flouting CAF’s judgement.”
But there were just as many on the other side those who saw Saturday’s parade not as a provocation but as a matter of dignity. As one fan put it: “Defiance in prideful display. I wonder if CAF will have any reservations about this, or attempt to fine the team.”
CAF has not responded to Saturday’s events.
Saturday’s friendly was Senegal’s first match since the AFCON final and forms part of their preparations for the World Cup, which starts in June. They have been drawn in the same group as France, Norway, and either Bolivia or Iraq. They play Gambia next, before facing the United States in May their last fixture before the tournament begins.
The legal battle with CAF will run in the background while the football continues in the foreground. Senegal has a World Cup to prepare for, a squad full of top-level European club talent, and a point to prove to a continent that watched what happened in January and is still arguing about it.
Whatever CAS eventually decides, Saturday in Paris made one thing clear: in the minds of the Lions of Teranga and the millions of people who support them, the trophy is theirs. They won it on the pitch. They carried it into the stadium. They placed it in the presidential box for the world to see.
And then they went and beat Peru 2-0 for good measure.
