Africa Cup of Nations refereeing gets a red card
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Referee Jean-Jacques Ngambo Ndala giving a yellow card to Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy in the Africa Cup of Nations final on Jan 18.
PHOTO: EPA
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PARIS – The Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) unfolded in a climate of suspicion that referees were favouring host nation Morocco, which reached a climax as the Jan 18 final tipped into chaos
The most striking image of this Afcon will remain the Senegal players leaving the pitch after Morocco were awarded a penalty at the very end of the second half. That came shortly after referee Jean-Jacques Ndala of the Democratic Republic of Congo had disallowed a goal for Senegal.
The Senegalese reaction was a sign of the prevailing mistrust shown to match officials over the three weeks of the competition.
Criticism of the refereeing is particularly marked at Afcons, but never before had the grievances taken on such proportions, to the point of spoiling the final in Rabat and tarnishing the image of a tournament whose organisation had until then been widely praised.
“From the start it was unhealthy,” Morocco coach Walid Regragui said after his team lost 1-0 in extra time, referring to the oppressive atmosphere that accompanied each of their games.
Beyond the pressure exerted by Moroccan supporters during the Atlas Lions’ matches and the limited number of seats allocated to their opponents, the sources of tension between players and referees were clear.
Morocco’s 2-0 win over Cameroon in the quarter-finals sparked the anger of the losing side, who blamed the referee for overlooking a penalty after a foul on forward Bryan Mbeumo.
“Many people want to believe, or make others believe, that we get advantages from the referees. We are the team to beat, so people will try to find every possible reason to say that Morocco is favoured,” Regragui said.
Morocco’s semi-final win over Nigeria was also tinged with controversy.
“The referee was dreadful. He made really bad decisions and it’s truly painful to see referees like that in a big match,” said Nigeria wide playerBright Osayi-Samuel.
Above all, the final and Ndala were in the international spotlight.
He lacked the authority to manage the crisis, according to former French referee Bruno Derrien.
He said that when Senegal had a goal disallowed for a foul on Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi minutes before the penalty incident, there was “contact, but it’s very light”.
“I think he blows the whistle too quickly. If he had let play continue without sanctioning that foul, the goal would probably have been checked by VAR and likely validated,” Derrien added.
When Senegal defender El Hadji Malick Diouf grabbed Brahim Diaz round the neck and pulled him over at a corner, Ndala eventually awarded a penalty.
Derrien said the spot kick, which Morocco missed, was questionable and followed a “micro-foul” at a time when the tension in the tightly poised match was “enormous”.
Ndala was surrounded by players and staff from both teams and the hostile atmosphere was punctuated by the whistles of Moroccan spectators as he headed to consult the pitchside monitor.
His decision sparked the fury of the Senegal players, some of whom left the pitch in protest, delaying play for around 20 minutes.
Ndala was also arguably too passive during this farcical episode because football’s rules stipulate that a player must be shown a yellow card “if he delays the restart of play” or if he deliberately leaves the field of play without the referee’s permission.
If applied, that could have led to the dismissal of several Senegalese players, who were already on a yellow card.
Meanwhile, Morocco have achieved their highest FIFA men’s world ranking
