Raymond Hack, former chairman of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Disciplinary Committee, has strongly criticised CAF over the sanctions imposed following the chaotic Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, Sports247 reports.
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Hack described the punishments as inadequate and damaging to the image of African football.
Osasu Obayiuwana, the former BBC reporter posted on X after a phone conversation with the former CAF official, shortly after the disciplinary verdict was announced.
Hack said CAF “missed an opportunity to impose the sanctions that were truly necessary,” insisting that the AFCON final incident was “probably the most important and certainly the most embarrassing situation CAF has ever faced,” aside from cases involving loss of life or stadium collapses.
The former disciplinary chief traced the root of the crisis to the actions of Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw, who ordered his players to leave the pitch during the final.
Hack argued that without that decision, the chain of events that followed—including crowd unrest and player reactions—might not have occurred.
“If the players had not been called off the pitch, you may not have had the reaction from the supporters, nor the reaction from the players,” Hack reportedly said.
He also condemned the conduct of the ball boys during the incident, describing it as unacceptable and stressing that such behaviour “should never, ever happen again.”
Hack was particularly critical of the five-match suspension and $100,000 fine handed to Thiaw, stating that the punishment was “minimal compared to the damage done to CAF’s image.”
He argued that the Senegal coach should have been banned from all football-related activities for at least six months, with a more substantial fine imposed on the Senegalese Football Federation.
He further warned that the situation could have escalated into a tragedy if not for the intervention of Senegal star Sadio Mané.
According to Hack, the incident has reinforced long-standing negative perceptions about crowd control and match management in African football—areas CAF has repeatedly pledged to improve.
Hack also questioned CAF’s decision to allow Thiaw to continue participating in major competitions, including the World Cup, despite the severity of the incident, describing it as “something I cannot reconcile.”
In the same vein, he criticised the sanctions imposed on players, arguing that banning a player for two matches for bringing the game into disrepute lacks clear justification.
The former CAF disciplinary boss concluded by suggesting that if a coach is unable to manage high-pressure situations responsibly, “he should never have been put in that position,” adding that he would be surprised if the Senegalese Football Federation failed to take further internal disciplinary action against Thiaw.
Raymond Hack is currently an arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and a sports and anti-doping attorney, with extensive experience in football governance and disciplinary matters.
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