Former Cameroonian goalkeeper Joseph Antoine Bell has voiced his support for the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) decision to withdraw the 2025 AFCON trophy from Senegal. In his view, the responsibility lies more with the actors who tarnished the image of African football during the final, rather than with CAF itself.
Bell, like South African coach Hugo Broos, believes that the debate should focus on the events surrounding the final. He particularly criticizes the reaction of the Senegalese coach, who asked his players to leave the field. "What is most unprecedented and what no one is talking about is the chaos that surrounded this final, due to a decision by the Senegalese coach to ask his players to leave the field. That is what should be denounced," he said in an interview with L'Équipe newspaper.
The former Indomitable Lion did not limit himself to criticizing Senegal. He also pointed to the lack of fair play from Morocco, who filed a complaint after seeing victory slip away. "Morocco is not to be outdone, it too lacked fair play. It agreed to play because it thought it would win, until its missed penalty and then extra time. And when Morocco finally saw that it had lost, it filed a complaint. It is its right, but there too, it is a lack of sporting dignity," he added.
Bell insisted that African football was tarnished by the behavior of the actors in the final, not by the CAF's decision. He also defended the timing of the decision, explaining that time for analysis was necessary to make a fair decision. "The late timing of the decision? I can understand the surprise. But to make the right decision, justice needs time, it's normal," he explained.
Joseph Antoine Bell advises the leaders of Senegal and Morocco not to contest the decisions of CAF for the good of African football.
