CAF fined the FRMF $1 million (£660,000/€870,000) last week and also banned Morocco from the competing at the 2017 and 2019 AFCONs.

African football's governing body is also seeking $9 million (£6 million/€8 million) in damages for the withdrawal, which led to Equatorial Guinea taking over as hosts in November.

The sanctions "have no regulatory basis...and go against the development of African football," the FRMF said in a statement carried by Moroccan news agency MAP.

The body will "take all necessary steps and measures to uphold the rights and interests of the Moroccan football," added the statement.

FRMF President Faouzi Lakjaa was under the impression that the penalty would only be financial having met CAF President Issa Hayatou in Cairo last month.

"The Executive Committee is said to be greatly surprised by the decisions taken by CAF," said the FRMF on its website.

"They do not correspond in any way to the conclusions of the first meeting in Cairo with the President of CAF."

Faouzi Lakjaa, President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, didn't expect Morocco to be banned from the next two Africa Cup of Nations ©Getty Images



The Moroccan Government had demanded that the 16-team tournament was delayed until June over fears that fans from the region worst affected by the Ebola virus, West Africa, may travel to the country.

But after CAF refused to re-schedule the tournament, Morocco announced they would not be staging it.

Ivory Coast won the competition, which took place between January 17 to February 8, but it did not go off without incident.

Equatorial Guinea have also been sanctioned after their semi-final against Ghana had to be halted for 30 minutes. 

With their team trailing 3-0, the home crowd littered the field of play with objects, injuring spectators and requiring the Ghanaian players to seek police protection.

Medical teams identified that at least 36 fans were injured and in need of treatment at the ground, with 14 of those needing to be transported to hospital for further observations.

As a consequence, CAF ruled that the Equatorial Guinea Football Federation must cover the cost of treatment for all injured fans at the match, as well as a fine of $100,000 (£65,000/€88,000) for the aggressive behaviour of their fans.

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February 2015: Morocco fined $1 million and banned from 2017 and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations