Senegal players paraded the AFCON trophy ahead of their friendly match against Peru at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris on Saturday.
The Teranga Lions are still in possession of the trophy despite the decision of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) appeal board that stripped Senegal of the title earlier this month.
Senegal was sanctioned for walking off the pitch for 14 minutes in protest of a controversial penalty call in favour of Morocco, the hosts, during the final match, which Senegal eventually won in extra time.
While the Senegal Football Federation has launched an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the country still parades itself as AFCON 2025 champion, despite CAF’s ruling.
The deposed champions were met by a raucous crowd in the stadium as Kalidou Coulibaly, the team captain, stepped onto the pitch with the trophy alongside Edouard Mendy, their number one goalkeeper.
Other squad members were also present as the deposed champions took a lap of honour, posed for pictures, and enjoyed a pre-match mini-concert by Youssou N’Dour, the legendary Senegalese singer.
Afterwards, Pape Thiaw’s side defeated Peru 2-0 in the World Cup warm-up match. Nicolas Jackson and Ismaila Sarr were on the scoresheet, the former scoring before halftime while the latter netted on 54 minutes.
