Mustapha Hadji said Morocco deserve to be awarded the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title at Senegal's expense under Confederation of African Football regulations. Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final in Rabat on 18 January, but the match later became the subject of a dispute.
Hadji's view on the rules
Hadji said, in a video interview with Kooora to be published later, "Football is governed by laws, and the law says that if players leave the pitch there must be a penalty, and in general I hope this crisis will not be repeated for the sake of the future of African football"
Asked whether he expected a ruling in Morocco's favour, he said, "God willing, as Morocco committed no error, while the Senegal players left the pitch, and therefore the law says it is Morocco's right to reclaim the Africa Cup title"
Hadji said the referee of the final, Jean Jacques Ndala, made a major mistake.
Comments on the final
"And the strange thing is that the video assistant referee and the Confederation of African Football officials let the referee take the decision on his own without intervening"
The former Moroccan star went on: "The Senegalese know the law, and they know well what happened. It is true they won the match on the pitch, but they realise the referee took his decision in order to ensure the match was completed without bigger problems"
He then added, "But the laws of CAF and FIFA say that in the event players leave the pitch for more than 10 or 15 minutes there must be a penalty"
CAF ruling and Senegal appeal
GOAL says CAF later upheld the appeal lodged by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation to crown Morocco as winners, citing the Senegal players' withdrawal from the pitch in protest at Ndala's decision to award the hosts a penalty in the final minutes of normal time.
GOAL says Senegal want the CAF decision overturned and the continental title restored, on the grounds that the referee completed the match and the result on the pitch should therefore stand.
GOAL says Senegal's federation took CAF's decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. GOAL says the court held a hearing attended by representatives of Morocco, Senegal and CAF in October to settle the matter.
Awaiting the final decision
Would the Moroccan public object if the ruling went Senegal's way? Hadji replied, "I hope the final ruling applies to everyone whoever it may be, but God willing the decision will be in Morocco's favour"
Crowned African Footballer of the Year in 1998, the star stressed: "We are talking about the law of football. We did not steal the cup unjustly, rather we won it by the law in accordance with the events that took place on the pitch"
On a possible appeal of the expected "CAS" decision, Hadji concluded: "I see that it is difficult to go any further than this in this case, especially as that would harm the future of the game in Africa. I want the world to know that there is a law governing African football"
GOAL says the final decision will be revealed at the end of next November.