CAF investigating ‘unacceptable behaviour’ after AFCON full-time clashes

The Confederation of African (CAF) Football has launched an investigation into alleged “unacceptable behaviour” during Nigeria’s victory against Algeria and Morocco’s win over Cameroon in the Africa Cup of Nations.

In a statement released on Monday, CAF said it had collected match reports and video evidence “indicating potentially unacceptable behaviour” from players and officials in both quarter-final fixtures. The incidents have been referred to the governing body’s disciplinary board, with CAF calling for “appropriate action” for anyone found guilty of wrongdoing.

Players from both sides had to be separated at full-time after Nigeria eliminated Algeria with a 2-0 win at the Grand Stade de Marrakech on Saturday. Algeria’s players surrounded the referee Issa Sy and followed him as he walked down the tunnel.

A CAF statement read: “CAF strongly condemns any inappropriate behaviour which occurs during matches, especially those targeting the refereeing team or match organizers. Appropriate actions will be sought against anyone whose behaviour is not consistent with professional conduct at CAF events.”

Shortly after CAF’s announcement, the Algeria Football Federation released a post on social media stating it had contacted African football’s governing body to raise a complaint about Sy and his officiating team.

“The Algerian Football Federation cannot overlook the refereeing decisions in the last match, which raised questions and left widespread dissatisfaction, as they undermined the credibility of African refereeing and do not serve the image of African football on the international stage,” the statement read.

“Accordingly, the Algerian Football Federation has contacted the Confederation of African Football, as well as the International Football Federation, by filing an official complaint accompanied by a request to open an investigation, in order to clarify what happened and take appropriate measures in accordance with the applicable regulations.”

During Morocco’s 2-0 victory over Cameroon, meanwhile, there were several refereeing decisions that attracted criticism. In the second half, Adam Masina appeared to make clear contact with Bryan Mbeumo in the box but Cameroon were not awarded a penalty. Morocco’s Masina also appeared to elbow Karl Etta Eyong when they competed in an aerial duel, but he was awarded a free-kick.

Cameroon’s head coach David Pagou did not discuss any specific incident after the game but said: “Africa is full of good referees and my stance remains. Yes there could be some mistakes here and there but the fact remains the referee is the ultimate master of the game. They don’t make mistakes intentionally.”

Morocco’s head coach Walid Regragui added: “People try to make us feel or perpetrate certain rumours as though we receive any favours from the referees.”

CAF also said it was reviewing footage following an incident in the mixed zone media area after members of the media allegedly “misbehaved”.

Morocco face Nigeria on Wednesday for a place in the AFCON final. The winner will take on Egypt or Senegal.

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