Thibaut Courtois had been diagnosed with a muscular injury “to the right quadriceps”.© AFP

The decision to strip Senegal of the Africa Cup of Nations title must be “denounced”, according to a senior official at the Confederation of African Football.

Augustin Senghor, a Caf executive committee member and former head of the Senegalese Football Federation, told the BBC World Service that Senegal should “fight against injustice” after the continent’s governing body ruled on Tuesday that they had forfeited the final against Morocco having left the the pitch in protest.

Senegal players had returned to the dressing room in after Morocco were awarded a late penalty during January’s final in Rabat, actions that were described as “shameful”.

The spot-kick was eventually missed after Brahim Diaz’s “Panenka” effort sailed into the arms of Edouard Mendy, with Senegal then winning 1-0 in extra time.

However the tournament hosts have now been awarded a 3-0 victory, two months after the match, leading to fresh controversy.

“In a situation like this, we have to fight against injustice,” Senghor said, as reported by the BBC. “Football is fair play, football is played on the field, not in offices. What happened with Caf was unacceptable.

“When you see a committee taking such a decision in violation of our rules, in violation of the Fifa laws of the game, to take the trophy and give it to Morocco, I think it is something very abject. We have to denounce it.”

According to Afcon regulations, if a team “refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee”, they will be deemed the loser and their opponents will automatically be given a 3-0 win, as per Articles 82 and 84.

But the ruling has been met with widespread complaints.

The Senegalese Football Federation (SFF) said it would be taking the matter to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport, while the country’s government has called for an “independent international investigation into suspected corruption”.

Head coach Pape Thiaw was later suspended having led his players off the pitch, although only for matches in the next Afcon qualifiers, which start after the World Cup in June, for which both Morocco and Senegal have qualified.

Morocco, as newly-crowned champions, immediately welcomed the decision.

People have been panning Tottenham boss Igor Tudor but they will look upon him in a different light if his side win this game.

Maybe he just needs to identify the opposition’s threat a little bit better than he does opposing managers – that clip of him mistaking someone else for Arne Slot at Anfield last week did make me chuckle.

Nottingham Forest‘s issue is that they don’t score enough goals, and that lack of attacking threat might just cost them here.

I know I keep mentioning it, but Forest manager Vitor Pereira has still not won a Premier League game all season, after 12 attempts with Wolves and Forest.

I don’t think he will win this week, either, although this is going to be an extremely tight game.

Spurs’ first aim will be to avoid any calamities like their red card against Crystal Palace in their previous home league game.

They have a few injuries, but they still have a fair bit of quality in their team.

Tottenham also have a bit of positivity and momentum after Wednesday’s home win over Atletico Madrid, even though it wasn’t enough to turn around their Champions League tie. Now they need to build on that.

Sutton’s prediction: 1-0

Amari’s prediction: If we play like we did against Liverpool and we get some players back from injury too, then we can do this. Forest have got some good players but we just need to get a result, it doesn’t matter how. 3-2

Amari on why he supports Spurs, and his favourite players: It’s down to my dad – every single person on my dad’s side is a Spurs fan. When I was kid, my heroes were Gareth Bale and then Dele Alli – when he first came to us, he was incredible.

Amari on whether Spurs will stay up or not? It’s been such a frustrating time because I don’t know what’s been going wrong. We can say it’s because of injuries but every team has those. We have been missing lots of players, but we still have a good squad.

I’ve been stressed about it before, but I am not stressed about it right now. If we are still in this situation with three games left then it is different, we might be going down. Now? I do believe we can get out of this.

Genesis’ prediction: I am going to give you a strange one here – I think Forest will surprise people. 1-3

AI’s prediction: 2-1

Earlier this week, USA golden goal hero Jack Hughes publicly requested that the Hockey Hall of Fame return the puck from his tournament-winning goal at the 2026 Olympics expressing frustration that the historic memento remains in the institution’s possession rather than with his family.

On Wednesday, Sidney Crosby was asked about Hughes’ request and addressed the situation. He shared his own perspective on what happened when his puck from the 2010 Olympic gold medal-winning goal was sent to the Hall of Fame.

“I didn’t even think about it that way, to be honest with you,” Crosby told The Athletic. “I was just happy that I scored the goal. I was happy that the puck was going to the Hall of Fame. I didn’t even think about it that way.”

The Penguins captain’s puck from his overtime winner against Canada remains at the Hockey Hall of Fame and Crosby has not sought to retrieve it.

Jack Hughes had made his feelings clear in an interview with ESPN where he mentioned that the puck remain in the Hall of Fame’s possession.

“I’m trying to get it. Like, that’s bulls— that the Hockey Hall of Fame has it, in my opinion. Why would they have that puck?” Hughes said.

Hughes later explained that his desire to reclaim the puck stems from wanting to give it to his father, Jim Hughes. The 24-year-old center also said Megan Keller, who scored the golden goal for Team USA’s women, should have her puck returned.

Hockey Hall of Fame VP comments on Jack Hughes’ request

Afterwards, vice president and curator for the Hockey Hall of Fame Philip Pritchard addressed Hughes’ comments by outlining the institution’s position on artifact ownership.

Pritchard explained that as a nonprofit registered charity in Canada, the Hall operates under legal protocols for accepted donations. Once items enter the permanent collection, they are insured and preserved according to institutional standards.

“Unfortunately, in the easiest words, it was never Jack’s puck to own,” Pritchard said. “It’s been donated to us now. For every artifact that’s been donated, we have a paper trail and signed paperwork of where it’s come from.”

“We try to take the emotion out of it. We’re here to preserve a game that Jack’s lucky enough to play or we’re lucky enough to work in. That’s why the Hockey Hall of Fame museum exists as an institution: We’re preserving the game of the past, present and the future,” he added.

Hughes has since indicated he will not actively pursue the matter. When recently asked about the puck situation, he said his focus remains on playing hockey and he does not plan to reach out to the Hall of Fame.