BBC’s John Bennett May Go to Court Over Senegal’s Stripped AFCON Win
John Bennett, a renowned sports analyst for the British Broadcasting Corporation, has raised a legitimate concern following a Confederation of African Football (CAF) jury verdict.
The Appeal Board at CAF has officially recognised the Atlas Lions of Morocco as the winners of the 2025 AFCON champions, rather than the Teranga Lions of Senegal, after a series of legal reviews of an appeal by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF).
The ace sports broadcaster served as a commentator for the AFCON finals on all BBC platforms during the competition’s lifespan from December 2025 to January 2026, particularly the grand finale at Stade Olympique de Rabat in Rabat.
Mr. Bennett, having worked at the tournament, remembered a feeling that there was an extra edge in the build-up to the final in Rabat, compared to previous editions.
Mr. Bennett reflected on the allegations raised on various social media that hosts Morocco were getting the rub of the green when it came to refereeing decisions, which became a big part of the managers’ pre-match news conferences.
After two months, the referee, Jean-Jacques Ndala, blew the final whistle in Rabat, and a story-tale commentary by John Bennett, everything has been stripped from the Senegalese, as it’s been circulated that they would resort to CAS.
John Bennett made an admissible statement on his official X account, @JohnBennettBBC, about whether he must go to the Court of Arbitration for Sports if his winning goal commentary is reinstated.
John captioned: “Will I have to go to CAS to get my winning goal commentary reinstated?!
Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, the president of the FSF, has said it will appeal against the verdict and has described the decision as ‘a travesty’, which an independent panel of accredited arbitrators will then review the case.”
https://x.com/i/status/2034268985278038096
Story by Atakorah (Pramaso)
