WAFCON: CAF sacks referees’ boss after Morocco’s protest over Super Falcons’ victory
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has dismissed Désiré Noumandiez Doué, its director of refereeing, following a formal protest from Morocco over officiating from Nigeria’s Super Falcons’ win in the WAFCON final.
CAF’s decision to sack Doué came after the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) filed a formal complaint, accusing match officials of making key errors during the intense final in Rabat. The host nation, Morocco, had a painful night as they let a 2–0 lead slip, eventually losing 3–2 to Nigeria.
The federation provided video evidence to CAF indicating that a penalty they believe should have been upheld, along with another penalty awarded to Nigeria, was the subject of controversy.
Doué didn’t officiate the match directly, but as CAF’s refereeing chief, he was responsible for appointing the match officials and overseeing refereeing standards. The final was handled by Namibia’s Antsino Twanyanyukwa, with assistants from Rwanda and Senegal, while Salima Mukansanga was in charge of VAR.
Tension rose after Morocco were denied what they felt was a clear penalty, and things got worse when the Super Falcons were given what they called a “soft” spot-kick. The North Africans were frustrated, saying the call in their favour was wrongly ignored.
Speaking with ESPN, Morocco’s head coach, Jorge Vilda, expressed his frustration, saying, “We saw images that showed clear contact, but the referee overturned her call. It impacted our players psychologically. It was a massive blow.”
It was a roller-coaster tournament for both sides. Nigeria went unbeaten and lifted the WAFCON trophy for the tenth time after a comeback from a 2-0 deficit at half-time. Morocco took the early lead through their captain Ghizlane Chebbak in the 12th minute and Sanaâ Mssoudy in the 24th minute.
But the Super Falcons turned the game around: Esther Okoronkwo scored a penalty in the 64th minute, followed by Folashade Ijamilusi’s equaliser in the 71st minute, and substitute Jennifer Echegini netted the dramatic 88th-minute winner.
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