Today, Wednesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport revealed the details of the hearing of the appeal filed by the Senegalese Football Federation against the African Confederation and the Moroccan Federation regarding the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final.
Senegal had defeated Morocco, the host of the land, in the final match, before being stripped of the title due to its players withdrawing from the field for 14 minutes in protest during the final minutes of the confrontation, so the title was awarded to Morocco, a decision that was appealed by the Senegalese Federation.
The court announced that the hearing will be held on October 8, at its headquarters in the Swiss city of Lausanne, and will be in person and closed to the media, after none of the parties requested a public hearing.
The session is scheduled to begin at nine-thirty in the morning, and will end in the afternoon, before the arbitration panel begins its deliberations to consider the case.
The court confirmed that it cannot currently determine the date for issuing the final decision, noting that the ruling will not be issued on the same day in which the session will be held.
Representatives of the Senegalese and Moroccan federations will attend the Lausanne session, along with legal advisors representing the Confederation of African Football.
English Chris Smalling, the former Manchester United and England national team defender, has entered into advanced negotiations to join Porto, the leader of the Portuguese football league.
Smalling, 36 years old, has become a free player since his departure from Al-Fayhaa, Saudi Arabia, in the summer of 2026, after his name was also linked to the possibility of moving to the Scottish Rangers, but the negotiations were not crowned with success.
The BBC reported that the agreement between Smalling and Porto has not been finalized yet, but negotiations between the two parties have reached advanced stages.
Porto started strongly in the Portuguese League, achieving seven consecutive victories, topping the standings by five points over second-placed Benfica.
On the other hand, Porto, led by its coach Francesco Farioli, lost its first match in the Champions League to Manchester City.
Smalling looks forward to continuing his professional career spanning nearly 19 years, which he began with Maidstone, before moving to Fulham and then Manchester United, where he won five major titles, including two Premier League titles.
Smalling also played for the Italian club Roma, and won the European Conference League title in 2022 under the leadership of Jose Mourinho, in addition to playing 31 international matches for the England national team.
Giorgio Scalvini, the Italian national team defender, confirmed that the big victory over Turkey gave the team a strong boost of confidence before facing France, stressing that the “Azzuri” will enter the match with a positive mentality and a desire to control the course of the match.
Scalvini participated throughout 90 minutes in Italy's 4-1 victory over Türkiye, last Monday, and caught attention with a defensive intervention inside the penalty area in the second half, which his teammates celebrated with him.
Scalvini said: “It was a beautiful moment. That save gave me a great morale boost, and perhaps contributed to uniting our ranks.” “The whole group is great and we are performing well.”
The Atalanta defender considered that the great victory over Turkey confirmed the Italian team’s ability to impose its personality, adding: “The victory made us realize that we are a strong team, and that we can control matches the way the coach wants.” “We have the ability to play well and impose our dominance.”
Despite this, Scalvini is aware of the magnitude of the challenge that awaits Italy against France, which he described as one of the best teams in the world, noting in particular the strength and speed possessed by its offensive line.
He added: “We will study the match with the coach to determine what we have to do.” We have a positive and courageous mentality, as we represent Italy and we will do everything we have to deliver a strong performance.”
He stressed that the Italian team will not enter the confrontation with a defensive mentality, stressing that there are aspects that can be improved compared to the previous match, and that the team will search for the appropriate way to enter the match in an offensive and open manner despite the strength of the French team.
Regarding his future, Scalvini did not rule out having a professional experience outside Italy one day, despite the renewal of his contract with Atalanta.
He said: “I have always been here, and I extended my contract because I feel comfortable. But I understand players who change clubs and move abroad. “I would love to do this one day to learn new things and concepts, although I am already learning a lot here in Atalanta.”
