For the first time since Morocco announced that it renounces to participate in CHAN 2022, the African Football Confederation (CAF) officially reacted Monday evening through a press release. “The CHAN Organizing Committee has seized the competent judicial body of CAF regarding the absence of Morocco from the match scheduled for yesterday (Sunday, editor’s note) in Constantine once morest Sudan“, thus announced the pan-African body.
Even if the Atlas Lions package had been in effect since Friday, CAF had so far acted as if nothing had happened. Sunday, in Constantine, Sudan had therefore had to appear at the kick-off of the meeting so that the referee notes the absence of Morocco. The Cherifian Kingdom now incurs sanctions fines of up to $150,000 and exclusion from the next two editions of CHAN.
Despite their boycott, Morocco have not officially thrown in the towel, so match protocol was followed today and the Sudanese went to the stadium.
The referee and CAF officials then officially noted Morocco’s withdrawal.#TotalEnergiesCHAN2022 pic.twitter.com/WU9CKGcyhe
— We love Algerian football ???? CHAN 2022 ???????? (@lucarne_dz) January 15, 2023
Due to this forfeit, Group C of the CHAN 2022 will be played with only three teams: Madagascar, surprise winner of Ghana (2-1) Sunday, and Sudan. “It has been decided that Group C will consist of three teams, with the direct consequence of the qualification of the first two teams for the knockout phase“, thus announced the CAF. Groups D and E also having three teams due to the new format of CHAN, the competition will therefore be played with three groups of three teams and the other way would have been to record that the best 2e of these three pools would advance to the quarter-finals, a decision that seemed fairer from the point of view of sporting fairness…
Recall that Morocco has given up going to CHAN following Algiers’ refusal to authorize a direct Rabat-Constantine flight due to the closure of airspace with their neighbor decreed by the Algerian authorities in September 2021.
Statement of the Organizing Committee of the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship https://t.co/PZufdz6zTw
— CAF Media (@CAF_Media) January 16, 2023
