CAF referees attacked and assaulted in Confederation Cup quarter-finals

Last Sunday, Dakar’s Jaraaf played their return match against the Cameroonian Coton Sport team. Beaten 1-0 in the first leg, Jaraaf won 2-1, but were eliminated because of the away goal rule. At the end of the match, members of the staff of the Dakar team attacked and assaulted Malian referee Boubou Traore and his assistants. The Jaraaf staff did not agree with the third goal being denied to Jaraaf for offside. This refused goal could have been synonymous with qualifying for the semi-final of the CAF Cup if it were granted. Unfortunately, there is no VAR in this competition. Had it not been for the intervention of the police and a few Jaraaf players, the referee could have spent a bad quarter of an hour. However, this aggression risks being very expensive for Jaraaf, because CAF will make decisions. (Source: News-in-24)

The CAF Panel of Refereeing Experts has expressed its indignation to the General Secretary following the physical assault of the referees at the end of the second leg of the quarter-finals of the Confederation Cup between ASC Jaraaf of Dakar and Coton Sport of Cameroon. CAF General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba wished a speedy recovery to those injured and strongly condemned such physical attacks on match officials. He called for an in-depth investigation by the competent bodies of CAF. “These acts of incivility cannot be tolerated. They have no place in our football, but unfortunately they tend to become widespread on the pitch. CAF reserves the right to revise and upwards the scale of sanctions for these acts,” he declared. Mr. Mosengo-Omba took the opportunity to confirm his intention to make proposals for an in-depth reform of CAF's judicial bodies to allow them to act more effectively. (Source: CAF)