The Football Federation of Senegal (FSF) has written to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to complain about irregularities noticed in the buildup to Sunday’s AFCON final against Morocco, www.aclsports.com reports.
In a statement released to the general public in the early hours of Saturday, FSF noted tacitly, a compelling evidence of lack of fairness to the opposing team as they prepare for the final showdown against the hosts nation.
On Security
FSF revealed that the security of the Teranga Lions was jeopardised with the manner of their arrival to the city of Rabat via train from Tangier. Additionally, Senegal were assigned a hotel deemed not fit enough by the Federation before it was changed after official complaint to CAF.
The FSF condemned the clear absence of adequate security measures upon the arrival of the Senegalese delegation at the Rabat train station, to start with.
“Regarding hotel logistics, the FSF reports that an official written protest was necessary to resolve the issue. Following this effort, a 5-star hotel was finally allocated to the Lions, thus guaranteeing the necessary recovery conditions,” writes the FSF.
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On training site and Stadium access
The FSF also rejected the training site allocated to the Teranga Lions of Senegal; the Mohammed VI Complex in Sale, as it is the base of host team, the Atlas Lions of Morocco, wondering why CAF has not provided an alternative yet.
The Federation also called for an increase in the number of tickets allocated to Senegal, given the occasion, frowning at the restriction of the Senegal Federation to just 2,850 tickets out of a stadium capacity of almost 70,000.
“The FSF has officially notified CAF of its categorical refusal to hold its training sessions at the Mohammed VI Complex. This decision is motivated by the fact that these facilities constitute the opposing team’s base camp, which raises a question of sporting fairness.
“Regarding ticketing, the situation remains concerning. The FSF wishes to clarify that the official allocation is only two VVIP tickets and deplores the lack of opportunity to purchase VIP and VVIP tickets, as was the case during the semi-finals.”
The Football Federation of Senegal hopes that CAF and the LOC takes immediate corrective measures to ensure that the principles of fair play and the integrity of the competition is upheld.
Sunday’s final, billed for the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat is scheduled to kick-off at 8pm local time.
Fisayo Dairo, reporting from Rabat
