Sports
Senegal take AFCON title fight to CAS after CAF’s shock reversal
Senegal have taken their fight for the Africa Cup of Nations crown to the highest legal stage in sport, challenging a stunning ruling that rewrote one of African football’s most dramatic finals weeks after the final whistle.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed it has received an appeal from the Senegalese Football Federation against the Confederation of African Football and Morocco’s federation, after a decision that stripped Senegal of their title and handed the trophy to the hosts.
At the center of the dispute is a final that seemed settled under the floodlights in Rabat, only to be reopened in a boardroom. Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 after extra time on January 18, but CAF later ruled that a temporary walk-off by Senegal’s players during a late penalty controversy amounted to a breach of regulations, overturning the result into a 3-0 forfeit defeat.
Senegal’s appeal asks CAS to nullify that ruling and reinstate them as champions, setting up a landmark case that could redefine the balance between sporting results and administrative authority.
Chaos at the decisive moment
The final’s turning point came deep in stoppage time with the score locked at 0-0. Referee Jean-Jacques Ndala awarded Morocco a penalty after a VAR review for a challenge on Brahim Diaz by El Hadji Malick Diouf.
What followed was a breakdown in control. Senegal’s players left the pitch in protest, furious at the decision, while sections of the crowd threatened to spill onto the field. Play was halted for nearly 20 minutes in scenes that drew global attention.
Calm eventually returned, led in part by captain Sadio Mane, who persuaded teammates to resume. When the match restarted, Diaz missed the penalty, a moment that shifted the emotional weight of the contest.
Senegal seized that momentum. In extra time, Pape Gueye struck the decisive goal, sealing what appeared to be a hard-fought and historic victory.
The ruling that changed the narrative
Weeks later, CAF intervened with a decision that stunned the football world. Citing tournament regulations, it ruled that Senegal’s walk-off, even though temporary and followed by a completed match, constituted a violation severe enough to forfeit the game.
The governing body converted the 1-0 result into a 3-0 loss and awarded Morocco the title, leaning on strict interpretation of rules designed to prevent teams from abandoning matches.
CAF president Patrice Motsepe defended the process and emphasized that all parties have the right to seek resolution through CAS, signaling that the final outcome now rests with sport’s highest legal authority.
Beyond the result
The case cuts deeper than a single match. It raises fundamental questions about whether football’s outcomes should remain final once decided on the pitch, or whether governing bodies can retroactively alter them through regulatory enforcement.
For Senegal, the argument centers on completion. The team returned, played on and won within the structure of the game.
For CAF, the initial act of leaving the field undermined the integrity of the competition, regardless of what followed.
That tension now sits at the heart of the CAS proceedings.
Players and perception
While officials debate statutes and precedent, the emotional truth of the final remains unchanged for those involved.
Senegal’s players celebrated with the trophy, believing they had secured their second continental crown.
Midfielder Idrissa Gueye publicly reinforced that sentiment, insisting the experience in Rabat cannot be erased.
Morocco’s perspective is more complex. Their players endured defeat in real time, only to be awarded the title weeks later.
For some, it represents justice through the rules. For others, it lacks the authenticity that comes with winning on the field.
What CAS will decide
CAS has indicated it will handle the appeal as swiftly as possible, though the legal and sporting implications suggest a detailed process.
The verdict could set a precedent not only for African football but for global governance, particularly in cases where discipline and competition intersect.
If Senegal’s appeal succeeds, it would reaffirm the principle that matches are ultimately decided by play.
If CAF’s ruling stands, it could mark a shift toward stricter enforcement of regulations, even at the cost of rewriting completed results.
San Antonio Spurs secured a 127-95 win over the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday after Victor Wembanyama scored 23 points and 15 rebounds, while Stephon Castle recorded a triple-double, helping their side extend their winning streak to eight games.
Castle contributed 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Spurs, while 22-year-old French star Wembanyana added two steals, six assists and a blocked shot.
San Antonio improved to 56-18, second in the Western Conference and only two games behind league leader Oklahoma City.
The Spurs, who have clinched their first playoff berth since 2019, are an NBA-best 24-2 since Feb. 1 and often win by big margins.
“Taking a lot of pride in it,” Wembanyama said. “Something none of us was used to until recently. It shows a lot of progress. Love it.”
In his third season, 2023 NBA Draft top pick Wembanyama has lifted the Spurs from 22-60 in his Rookie of the Year campaign to a legitimate title threat.
“I guess one big component I have better than my first two years is winning. Now we’re a winning team,” he said. “Just trying to enjoy the whole thing and be the best version of myself.”
A major reason for Wembanyama’s confidence is the defensive skill he and his teammates have displayed.
“I know we’re the best defense out there,” Wembanyama said. “We have guys that have shown all season they can adapt quick. They are coachable. We have just a great collective so I’ve got 100% trust in my teammates.”
“Wemby” delivered an impressive behind-the-back pass to set up a Castle slam dunk, the guard scoring 11 points early as the Spurs jumped ahead 46-24 just 2:30 into the second quarter on the way to a 67-45 halftime lead.
San Antonio led 102-79 after three quarters and scored the first 11 points of the fourth to help secure the victory.
The Bucks (29-44), playing without Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo for a sixth straight game due to a left knee injury, were eliminated from postseason contention, missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Milwaukee’s defeat secured no worse than play-in spots for Philadelphia, Charlotte, Orlando and Miami – who hold the seventh through 10th spots in the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia snapped Charlotte’s five-game win streak with a 118-114 road victory.
Joel Embiid scored 29 points, Paul George added 26 points and 13 rebounds and Tyrese Maxey contributed 26 points to power the triumphant 76ers while Brandon Miller’s 29 points led the Hornets.
LaMelo Ball’s 3-pointer put Charlotte ahead 114-112 with 1:24 to play, but Embiid hit a free throw, George added a 3-pointer and Maxey added a free throw for a 117-114 76ers lead with 31 seconds remaining.
Ball missed two potential tying 3-point shots and Embiid blocked another attempt by Miller before a final George free throw settled matters.
Pistons beat T-Wolves
The Detroit Pistons dominated defensively in a 109-87 victory at Minnesota, the Timberwolves shooting only 32% (27-of-85) from the floor and missing a season-high 34 3-pointers on 9-43 from beyond the arc.
The Pistons, rated second in the NBA defensively behind league-leading Oklahoma City, improved to 5-1 since losing star Cade Cunningham to a collapsed lung.
Tobias Harris scored 18 points to lead seven Pistons in double figures.
At 54-20, Detroit moved 4.5 games ahead of Boston atop the Eastern Conference while the T-Wolves fell to 45-29, a half-game ahead of sixth-place Houston in the Western Conference.
Minnesota, lacking All-Star guard Anthony Edwards due to a knee injury, was led by Donte DiVincenzo’s game-high 22 points.
Aryna Sabalenka defeated Coco Gauff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 Sunday to win her second straight Miami Open title and complete a “Sunshine Double” sweep of Indian Wells Open and Miami.
The world No. 1 from Belarus, fresh off her first triumph in the California desert, became the fifth woman – and the first since Iga Swiatek in 2022 – to win both of the elite early season hardcourt WTA 1000 titles.
“It means a lot,” Sabalenka said after joining Poland’s Swiatek, German great Steffi Graf, Belgian Kim Clijsters and fellow Belarusian Victoria Azarenka on the list of women to win both titles in the same year.
“My goal always been to put my name in the history, and I just did it,” she added.
Sabalenka underscored her WTA dominance in a season in which her only defeat to date was her Australian Open finals loss to Elena Rybakina – who she went on to beat in the Indian Wells title match and in the semifinals here.
She handed Gauff her first career defeat in a hardcourt final.
The American had won her first nine, including a triumph over Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open championship match.
Gauff had also beaten the Belarusian for the title on the red clay of Roland Garros last year.
So Sabalenka said she wasn’t surprised to see Gauff dig in, even after the Belarusian pocketed the first set with a ruthless display of power and precision.
She broke Gauff to open the match and, after Gauff saved three break points in a gritty fifth game, broke the American again in the seventh before serving it out in 37 minutes without facing a break point herself.
In a tense second set, Gauff’s first break point chance – from a blistering backhand passing winner in the second game – sparked a jubilant reaction from the crowd at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins that is just about an hour away from Gauff’s Delray Beach home.
But Gauff couldn’t convert, slamming a forehand into the net on the next point as Sabalenka held.
It needed another gutsy hold from Gauff to keep it on serve in the fifth game.
Up 40-0, she wasted three game points with a pair of errors off the ground and a double fault then had to save a break point before taking the game.
But Gauff was finding more depth on her returns and broke Sabalenka for the first time to take the second set.
“I knew that she’s going to try her very best to fight in this match,” Sabalenka said.
“I was just trying to keep a positive mindset going into the third set. I’m super happy how well I handled my emotions how well I stayed focused from the very beginning to the very end.”
‘What a month’
And the third set, again, was virtually all Sabalenka.
She broke to open the final frame and broke again when Gauff sailed a backhand long on Sabalenka’s first match point.
“What a month,” said Sabalenka, who along with two prestigious titles acquired a new puppy and got engaged to boyfriend Georgios Frangulis.
Gauff was also feeling grateful after a rocky March that saw her withdraw from her third-round match at Indian Wells with a nerve issue that caused “scary” pain in her left arm.
She had said after a dominant semifinal win over Karolina Muchova that she was making progress with the inconsistencies in her serve and forehand, although seven double faults hurt her cause against Sabalenka.
And after considering skipping the event, the 22-year-old was thrilled to reach the final for the first time.
“I feel like I’m nowhere near my peak of my tennis, so I think it gives me comfort a little bit playing these tournaments and having great results,” she said.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli capitalized on a timely safety car to win Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, securing his second straight victory and becoming Formula One’s youngest-ever championship leader at age 19.
The Italian, who started from pole but dropped to sixth after a tardy start, crossed the line 13.7 seconds clear of Australian Oscar Piastri, who handed reigning champions McLaren their first podium of the season. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third.
Antonelli’s win, his second from the opening three races, gives him a nine-point lead in the overall standings over teammate George Russell.
The Briton, who had held a four-point advantage going into Sunday’s race, finished a distant fourth.
“Of course, it’s too early to think about the championship,” said Antonelli who also became the first Italian to win two Formula One races in a row since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
“But we’re on the good way,” he added, acknowledging the lucky timing of the safety car but also pointing to his speed in the second half of the race.
Slow start
Antonelli made a tire-smoking getaway that left him a sitting duck and allowed his rivals to stream past.
Piastri, starting third, led into the first corner from Leclerc, reigning world champion Lando Norris, Russell and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
It wasn’t until lap 21 that Antonelli found himself back in the lead, inherited after his rivals, including teammate George Russell, pitted for fresh rubber.
A heavy crash a lap later for Haas racer Oliver Bearman triggered a safety car and turned the race in Antonelli’s favor.
That gave the Italian the opportunity to make his stop while his rivals were running at reduced speed and keep the lead, leaving Russell, who had stopped just a lap earlier and had been leading from Antonelli, cursing his luck.
Bearman given all clear
Briton Bearman was given the all-clear by doctors after limping away from the high-speed 50G crash.
Replays showed him having to take avoiding action as he rapidly closed in on Franco Colapinto’s Alpine, with a significant speed differential between the two cars.
That sent Bearman onto the grass and into a heavy collision with the barriers.
The 20-year-old was given an X-ray at the circuit’s medical center, which revealed a right knee contusion but no fractures, a Haas spokesperson said.
Piastri redemption
Piastri’s podium helped McLaren bounce back from a dismal Chinese Grand Prix at which neither of their two cars was able to make the start in Sunday’s race.
It was also redemption for Piastri, who until Sunday had only turned racing laps in China’s Saturday sprint, having crashed out ahead of his home race in Australia.
“Yeah, we do alright when we get to start!” joked the 24-year-old.
Norris was fifth in the other McLaren ahead of Hamilton and the Briton, like Antonelli, benefited by pitting under the safety car to move up to third.
But despite another Sunday afternoon of wheel-to-wheel battling, he was unable to hang on to the podium spot.
Pierre Gasly was seventh for Alpine.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who said he was “beyond frustration” after a poor qualifying Saturday, salvaged some points in eighth.
Liam Lawson was ninth for Racing Bulls, with Esteban Ocon 10th in his Haas.
Fernando Alonso handed Aston Martin their first finish of the year at power unit partner Honda’s home race. The Spaniard was 18th.
UEFA fined Portuguese club Benfica 40,000 euros ($46,000) and placed the club on a one-year probation after supporters engaged in racist chants and gestures directed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the first leg of their Champions League knockout tie on Feb. 17.
The match, won 1-0 by Madrid, was overshadowed by allegations of racial abuse, raising fresh questions about fan behavior and on-field accountability in European football.
Benfica risks partial stadium closure in future European matches if similar incidents occur during the probation period.
The sanctions address “illicit chants and gestures by two supporters,” UEFA said, and are separate from the ongoing investigation into allegations that Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni racially abused Vinicius during the match. In the 50th minute, after scoring the game’s only goal, Vinicius approached referee François Letexier claiming Prestianni called him a “monkey.”
UEFA’s anti-racism protocol was immediately invoked, halting play for nearly 10 minutes as players and officials dealt with the tense situation.
Television footage showed Prestianni lifting his jersey over his mouth while speaking to Vinicius, which the Brazilian interpreted as an attempt to conceal the insult.
Prestianni has consistently denied the allegation and faces a potential 10-match UEFA ban if found guilty, while he was suspended from the second leg in Madrid pending the investigation.
Benfica acted internally, suspending five supporters identified as having engaged in racist behavior.
UEFA also fined the club 25,000 euros for objects thrown onto the pitch, 8,000 euros for laser pointer use, and suspended assistant coach Pedro Machado for one match for unsporting conduct.
The incident highlights an ongoing issue for Vinicius, who has been targeted by racist abuse multiple times in European football.
Brazil’s football confederation (CBF) called for exemplary sanctions, while Real Madrid submitted full match footage to UEFA to support the case.
On the field, tensions flared: benches exchanged heated words, and Benfica coach Jose Mourinho was briefly sent off.
The second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu ended 2-1 in Madrid’s favor, sending the Spanish club through to the Champions League round of 16.
But the wider story centered on racism and fan misconduct, not the scoreline.
UEFA’s disciplinary measures signal the governing body’s commitment to zero tolerance, though the final verdict on Prestianni will.
Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti dismissed calls from fans for Neymar, who was omitted from the squad, following their 2-1 warm-up loss to France in Boston on Thursday, emphasizing that attention should stay on the players selected.
Neymar was left out after missing a recent Santos FC match due to muscle fatigue, a game Ancelotti had intended to watch in person as part of his evaluation before finalizing the squad.
“Right now we have to talk about those who are here, who played, who gave everything, who showed character, who worked very hard. And I am satisfied,” Ancelotti told reporters.
“I think Raphinha played very well. He had some muscle discomfort at the end of the first half and we had to substitute him, but he had many opportunities and very good movement off the ball.
“And Vini (Vinicius Jr.) always tries; he always makes the difference. A striker cannot always score, but the work done by both of them was good.”
Neymar, Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals, has not played for the national team since suffering a serious knee injury in October 2023 and has struggled to maintain a consistent run of matches since returning to Santos last year.
Ancelotti has repeatedly said the forward will be considered if he is fully fit. Despite the defeat and Neymar’s absence, the Italian said the performance reinforced his belief in the squad’s potential.
“I think today’s game makes it very clear to me that we can compete with the best teams in the world. I have no doubt about that,” Ancelotti said.
Brazil will next face Croatia on March 31 in Orlando ahead of the June 11-July 19 World Cup in North America.
The Japanese Grand Prix may be just the third race of the Formula One season, but it marks the start of a five-week hiatus after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were canceled because of the war in Iran. The next race is scheduled for May 3 in Miami.
So far, Australia and China have shown Mercedes and Ferrari leading the pack, having adapted best to F1’s most radical changes in power units and chassis in more than a decade.
George Russell and Kimi Raikkönen have each claimed a win, while Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc have swapped third and fourth places. Both teams are favorites on Suzuka’s legendary figure-eight layout, a narrow, twisting circuit in central Japan with only one major straight for overtaking.
Unlike the modern, wide tracks of Shanghai or Melbourne, Suzuka is classic F1: technical, demanding, and steeped in history.
Hamilton has won the Japanese Grand Prix five times, four of them at Suzuka, as he surges back near the top of the standings after two races.
McLaren has struggled after winning last season’s drivers’ championship with Lando Norris and the constructors’ title. The team failed to start the race in China two weeks ago because of engine and electrical problems.
Asked Thursday if the problems had been resolved, Norris said: “I think it took a little bit of time to figure things out, but yes. Of course it hurt us as a team, certainly didn’t make us look good to have two cars not starting a race.”
Norris praised the team, which includes Oscar Piastri. McLaren had the best car on the grid the last two seasons, winning the constructors’ title both years.
“Now is just as good a time as ever to prove exactly what we can do as a team, against Ferrari, against Mercedes, who are performing very well at the minute,” Norris said.
Red Bull and four-time champion Max Verstappen, who retired in China, have also faced challenges. Verstappen has been vocal about this season’s radical F1 makeover, calling it “yo-yo racing” as top drivers surge to the front and quickly fall back.
Looking ahead to the five-week break, Verstappen said, “We just need to keep working, keep trying to put more performance on the car. Maybe the little break we have now is a good time to look back and analyze even more things. Basically, try to be better in Miami.”
Verstappen also kicked a journalist out of a Thursday interview, upset over coverage of his failed bid for a fifth consecutive drivers’ title last season.
Honda, which had enjoyed great success as Red Bull’s engine supplier, is off to a difficult start this season supplying Aston Martin after Red Bull switched to Ford power. The Japanese manufacturer’s power unit has caused severe vibrations, preventing both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll from completing the first two races.
Honda operates Suzuka, and it is not the kind of publicity the company wants at its home race. Simply finishing with both cars would be considered a victory.
Russell and Raikkönen were fastest Friday in the first practice for Sunday’s race. Russell’s session-leading time was 1 minute, 31.666 seconds.
Another practice session is scheduled for later Friday, with a third session Saturday before qualifying.
The McLaren pair of Norris and Piastri followed the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers in the timesheets. The top six practice times were separated by just 0.374 seconds.
Alonso missed the early session. Spanish reports said he was late arriving in Japan because his partner, Melissa Jimenez, gave birth to the couple’s first child. The team said only Alonso was delayed for personal reasons.
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