The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has relieved Ivorian official Noumandiez Doue of his duties as Head of Referees following a formal complaint lodged by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) regarding officiating during the final of the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Morocco suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat to Nigeria in the final, held last Saturday at Rabat’s Olympic Stadium. The outcome sparked widespread frustration within the host nation’s football hierarchy, prompting the FRMF to formally challenge key refereeing decisions - particularly those involving the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system. According to a federation representative, a pivotal penalty incident around the 78th minute was mishandled by officials. “The match producer made very serious statements, claiming that the VAR refused to show the footage that clearly shows and proves that there was an obvious penalty (following a handball by Oluwatosin Demehinni in the penalty area around the 78th minute),” an FRMF official explained. The federation’s dissatisfaction centred on the perceived failure of VAR to intervene appropriately during the match, fuelling suspicions of procedural shortcomings or possible misconduct. In response to Morocco’s strongly worded complaint, CAF appears to have acted swiftly by removing Noumandiez Doue, who had served as Head of Referees since 2022. His dismissal was reported by Le360 Sport, citing internal sources within the governing body. According to internal CAF sources, this decision was made Thursday morning during a farewell meeting for Noumandiez Doué on the occasion of the referees’ training camp for the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Kenya, ending three years in a role deemed disappointing by several federations. The CAF Executive Committee is expected to confirm the appointment of a new director for the referee commission. Among the candidates considered are several renowned referees: Gambian Bakary Gassama, Moroccan Redouane Jiyed, and Egyptian Issam Abdel Fattah.
Reorganizations are also planned in Central and West Africa zones, aiming to restore the credibility of African refereeing before the tournament’s opening on December 21, 2025. The most surprising development is a novel project considering the use of foreign referees, notably Europeans and South Americans, to officiate at the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations. While still under study, this measure is taken seriously in response to complaints from multiple African federations frustrated by repeated refereeing errors during major continental competitions. With these decisive measures, CAF aims to elevate the stature of its premier competition amid strong public expectations and media pressure. Morocco, hosting AFCON for the first time since 1988, is stepping up preparations to deliver a landmark edition in terms of sports, organization, and diplomacy.
