‘Nothing changes for me’ – Moussa Niakhaté on CAF’s decision to withdraw Senegal’s African championship title

Speaking to the press on the eve of the Europa League round of 16 second leg between Olympique Lyonnais and Celta Vigo, Rhône-based defender Moussa Niakhaté (30) talked about the decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to rule in Morocco’s favour following the appeal lodged by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) in the wake of a final marred by numerous incidents.

Consequently, two months after the events in question, the African governing body declared the Lions of Teranga to have lost by default, thereby confirming the host nation’s victory.

“Out of respect for the club and with tomorrow’s (Thursday’s) crucial match in mind, I don’t want to go into too much detail,” explained the Senegalese international. “You saw my reaction on social media (he posted a photo of himself with the trophy); it’s the same today. What I can say is that nothing has changed for me compared to what we went through in January. I’ll have time to talk about it again in due course; for now, I’m going to stay focused on OL.”

These “details” are likely to be raised with Niakhaté again very soon, as Senegal are set to play friendly matches against Peru at the Stade de France and then against The Gambia on 28th and 31st March.

A key member of Pape Thiaw’s squad, the former Nottingham Forest player started in six of the seven matches during Senegal’s epic run to the African championship title in mid-January.