Referees in crisis and pitch pressure: six things we learned from Afcon 2025

"At the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d'Ivoire, officiating was at its finest, with the Confederation of African Football's video assistant referee operation setting standards that were the envy of the Premier League and several other European leagues. Sadly, refereeing standards took a nosedive at this tournament, which many associate with the abrupt dismissal of the Ivorian Noumandiez Doue as head of Caf's refereeing department on the eve of last year's African Nations Championship."

"With clear penalties not given, obvious VAR decisions not made and some referees asked to handle knockout games when poor performances should have led to their being sent home, Caf has a herculean task to get refereeing back to acceptable standards at the next Afcon. Its refereeing department must be filled with competent, independent-minded people who have the courage and ethics to withstand pressure even from Caf's most powerful politicians."

"What should have been a sterling Afcon final between the hosts, Morocco, and Senegal was turned into a farce by the referee Jean-Jacques Ngambo Ndala, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His unacceptable decision to rule out what would have been a legitimate Senegal goal (blowing for a foul before the ball went into the net meant VAR could not intervene) set in motion an extraordinary series of events."

At the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d'Ivoire, an initially exemplary VAR operation contrasted with an overall collapse in refereeing standards. The decline followed the abrupt dismissal of Noumandiez Doue as head of Caf's refereeing department, resulting in missed penalties, unmade VAR interventions and retention of poorly performing referees in knockout matches. Caf must restore acceptable standards by appointing a refereeing department staffed with competent, independent-minded officials capable of resisting political pressure. Caf alone bears responsibility for match management. The Afcon final featured a disallowed Senegal goal and a contentious Morocco penalty, prompting a temporary team withdrawal.

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