体坛英语新闻：Morocco fined 8 million euros for failing to host 2015 African Cup

RABAT, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Friday fined Morocco over 8 million euros for failing to host 2015 African Cup, the Moroccan football federation told Xinhua.

CAF also disqualified the Moroccan football team from taking part in the 2017 and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN).

This new sanctions follow the disqualification of Morocco from the 2015 CAN in Equatorial Guinea after Rabat requested the African football body on Oct. 10 to postpone the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) due to fears over Ebola disease.

At a meeting in Malabo, on the sideline of the Africa Cup of Nations, CAF decided the new sanctions, saying that Morocco breached the regulatory and contractual provisions, including those set out in the Host Association Agreement signed between CAF and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation in 2014 and refused to hold the 2015 CAN finals.

The CAF Executive Committee decided to suspend the national team of Morocco from joining the next two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, 2017 and 2019, and to impose on the federation the regulatory fine of 1 million U.S. dollars, according to a release by CAF posted on its website.

The CAF Executive Committee decided by a separate measure the sum of 8 million and 50 thousand euros in compensation for all material damage sustained by CAF, stakeholders and partners as a result of the decision not to host AFCON 2015, the release added.

Morocco requested to postpone the tournament by a year on Oct. 10, 2014, on allegations "of the highest health risk."

Morocco cited the outbreak of the Ebola virus as a case of force majeure in justifying the postponement, citing in particular the risk of contamination of its population because of anticipated fans' flows.

However, the force majeure was not accepted by the Executive Committee.