PHOTO: Ex-President George Manneh Weah, former World Best Footballer
By K. Ericson Sayee, Contributing Writer
Monrovia–Africa’s only Ballon d’Or winner George M. Weah has sharply criticized the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for stripping off the Champion title of the Africa Cup of Nations, which was recently won by the Senegalese national team after initially walking out the field against Morocco before winning the title.
The decision, which was made by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) through its Appeals Board, has received mixed reactions from sports lovers across Africa.
Responding to CAF decision on stripping off the title from Senegal to Morocco on March 19, 2026, via his social media platform, former Ballon d’Or winner Weah says CAF move by revocating the title from the legitimate winner of the AFON is wrong and should not have been taken by the governing body of football in Africa
“This decision has further scarred and blemished African football, undermining confidence in the fairness, consistency, and integrity of football on the continent”, he expressed .
The global football icon used the medium to call on other relevant authorities to speedily move in to recorrect the decision that has recently been made by CAF.
Weah said: “I call on the Court of Arbitration for Sport and other relevant authorities to move decisively so that this travesty does not stand”.
In football, according to him, the Laws of the Game are clear: ‘the referee on the pitch is the final authority on decisions made during the match’. He added that once play is allowed to continue and the match is completed, the result obtained on the field must stand.
Football legend Weah noted that the referee has full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed, and his decisions on facts connected with play are final.
In accordance with Law 5, he explained that the Laws of the Game (applied by all Confederations including CAF competitions). Additionally, Weah noted that post match, the referee report noted a stoppage during the match, not a forfeiture and recommended appropriate sanctions for the infractions during the match.
“There is therefore no sporting justification to nullify a match that was completed in accordance with the referee’s authority and the Laws of the Game otherwise the beautiful game will head down a slippery slope where committee room officials and not match officials will be making post match rulings to override referees on-field decisions like penalties, offside and red cards, ” he intimated.