General Football Thread

CAF banned the north African nation from the next two continental tournaments and forced them to pay over €8 million, but their FA has refused to accept the punishment

Morocco have "rejected all sporting and financial sanctions" imposed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for opting out of hosting the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

The north African nation pulled out of hosting duties late last year following disagreements with CAF over the dangers of the Ebola virus, which has killed thousands on the continent.

Equatorial Guinea ultimately stepped in to host the tournament, which was won by Cote d'Ivoire in a penalty shoot-out in the final against Ghana.

CAF confirmed during the Afcon that Morocco will be banned from the next two continental competitions (2017 and 2019) while also being fined €885,000 and forced to pay a further €8m in damages.

However, following a directors' committee meeting on Tuesday, Morocco's football federation (FRMF) stated its surprise at the decisions and its rejection of the sanctions.

"The directors' committee has expressed great surprise at the decisions made by CAF," read a statement on the FRMF website.

"The directors' committee of the FRMF rejects all these sporting and financial sanctions and considers that the decisions taken by the Executive Committee of CAF are against the development of African football, and not based on any statutory basis."

Fininvest denied on Monday that they had received any offers for the Serie A side, but the Thai investor has revealed he did table an offer

Thai investor Bee Taechaubol has tabled an offer worth close to €1 billion to acquire a majority stake in AC Milan.

Club president Silvio Berlusconi's holding company, Fininvest, stated on Monday they had held no talks with any potential investors and categorically denied they are ready to sell the club.

But, Taechaubol has claimed he made an official offer and even went on to predict that the deal could be completed as early as March.

"The reports are all true. I have presented an offer to acquire a majority stake in AC Milan," the Thai investor told Bangkok Post.

"My offer has an overall value of just under €1bn.

"The deal could come into effect by October. I'm now awaiting a response from Berlusconi. I am ready to close the deal by the end of the month."

Taechaubol then went on to stress that he has already outlined his plans to the Milan president and is confident of conquering the Asian market.

"I have presented a clear development project with a detailed plan for each major city in Asia. I am convinced the brand 'AC Milan' has a tremendous value in a market where we want to strengthen our position," he added to La Repubblica.

"My proposal is serious and solid. Talks with Berlusconi were very serene and quite pleasant."

Taechaubol would become the second Asian businessman to take charge of one of Serie A's top clubs after Indonesian investor Erick Thohir previously acquired Inter.