It was part protest, part celebration, and entirely Senegalese.
Before their friendly match against Peru at the Stade de France on Saturday, March 28, the Senegal national team made a statement that needed no translation. Captain Kalidou Coulibaly led his teammates on a lap of honour around the pitch, AFCON trophy in hand, in full view of thousands of roaring supporters who had packed the stadium to show their support. This was the same trophy that the Confederation of African Football has ordered Senegal to hand back. They paraded it anyway.
Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and Coulibaly eventually carried the trophy to the presidential box, placing it in front of officials including the president of the Senegalese Football Federation, before the match got underway. A pre-match performance by legendary musician Youssou Ndour set the emotional tone for what felt less like a warmup game and more like a national moment of reckoning.
How It All Unravelled
To understand why this friendly carried so much weight, you have to go back to the AFCON final in Rabat, where Senegal and Morocco faced off in what became one of the most controversial finishes in the tournament’s history.
Late in the match, a penalty decision against Senegal caused the players to briefly walk off the pitch in protest. Captain Sadio Mane eventually brought them back, and the moment seemed to have passed when Morocco missed the spot kick. Senegal then went on to win the match through Pape Gueye’s extra-time goal, or so they thought.
CAF later ruled that the temporary walkoff was a breach of tournament regulations, and in a decision that sent shockwaves through African football, overturned the result entirely. Morocco were awarded a 3-0 victory and handed the AFCON title. Senegal were effectively stripped of a trophy they had already celebrated.
The Lions of Teranga have since taken their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and are continuing to fight the ruling through official channels. But on Saturday, they made clear they are also fighting it in the court of public opinion.
Paris Stands With Senegal
The scenes outside the stadium before kickoff told their own story. Thousands of supporters, many from the large Senegalese diaspora community in France, marched through the streets of Saint-Denis with drums, flags and chants, turning the area into a carnival of defiance before the gates even opened.
Saint-Denis mayor Bally Bagayoko captured the mood of the evening when he addressed the crowd, telling the players they were the pride of working-class neighbourhoods everywhere and that all of Africa stood united behind them.
It was a remarkable atmosphere for what is technically just a friendly. But nothing about this felt friendly in the casual sense of the word. For Senegal, this was a show of strength, a reminder to CAF and to the rest of the continent that they have not accepted this outcome quietly and do not plan to.
The match also marks Senegal’s first outing since the AFCON final, as they begin turning their attention toward World Cup preparations. Whatever happens with the appeal, the Lions of Teranga are not standing still and judging by what played out in Paris on Saturday night, neither are their fans.
