Ibrahim Mbaye reveals his conversation with Achraf Hakimi following the CAF Appeals Committee’s decision

The Senegalese player admits that he was not even aware of the decision made on 17 March until the Moroccan informed him.

Ibrahim Mbaye and Achraf Hakimi, who both play for Paris Saint-Germain, briefly discussed the matter without dwelling on it. However, the Senegalese international says he felt no particular emotion when he learnt of the Confederation of African Football’s decision to strip Senegal of the African championship title and award it to Morocco. For him, nothing can erase the victory achieved on the pitch.

I didn’t have any particular reaction, because we won on the pitch. We’ve got the medal, it’s still at my place, and the trophy is at home. For me, it doesn’t change a thing: we won on the pitch. I wasn’t even aware of it; it was Hakimi who told me about the CAF’s decision. He said to me: ‘Have you seen the news? They’ve given us the trophy.’ We spoke about it briefly; we just said to ourselves that it was a fact. As far as I’m concerned, I won the Africa Cup of Nations. After that, our discussion remained private.