AFCON 2025: Dear CAF, your referees can’t continue like this

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2025) has been in full swing since kickoff on December 21, 2025, and all 24 participating countries have been strutting their stuff since the group stage.

Already the wheat is being separated from the chaff, as the competition is now in the knockout phase.

Down to 16. The road takes shape. #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 | @1xBet_Eng pic.twitter.com/o2cS3pcYDR

— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 31, 2025

The tournament has delivered plenty of excitement, and it goes beyond just the quality of football on display. The standard of the stadiums and pitches in Morocco has been top-notch.

Nonetheless, there has been a major drawback in the competition: officiating.

When the Confederation of African Football (CAF) released its list of 28 referees, 31 assistant referees, and 14 video match officials, expectations were high that these officials represented the best on the continent and that the standard of officiating would be equally top-notch.

While there is always room for error, the issues witnessed so far have been too significant to ignore.

How AFCON 2025 Officiating Has Affected Nigeria’s Super Eagles

In the Super Eagles’ opening match of AFCON 2025 against Tanzania, referee Dahane Beida delivered a fairly decent performance. However, it was the second game that truly raised eyebrows.

Malian referee Traore Boubou officiated Nigeria’s second group match against Tunisia and had a solid outing until the second half. The most contentious moment came in the 87th minute, when he awarded Tunisia a penalty.

https://youtu.be/ekQlcBi9iYs?si=v8u7K2ByQhWFJP5T

Boubou adjudged Bright Osayi-Samuel to have handled the ball inside the box. However, the Super Eagles defender was clearly grappling with an opponent while jumping for the ball, and it was the ball that moved towards his hand rather than the other way around.

Initially, the referee did not signal for a foul, but VAR later called his attention to the incident — even though it was not a clear and obvious error. Had Nigeria dropped points in that game, referee Boubou would certainly have faced heavy criticism from Nigerian fans.

In the final group-stage match, officiated by Beninese referee Louis Houngnandande, there were also a few questionable decisions.

He booked Calvin Bassey after just four minutes for what appeared to be a routine foul. It was not cynical—simply two players contesting for the ball — yet Bassey was shown a yellow card.

A few minutes later, Ryan Alebiosu was on the receiving end of a reckless challenge right in front of the assistant referee, but play was allowed to continue.

At the end of the game, the Blackburn Rovers defender was discovered to have sustained an injury, having received little protection from the officials.

If CAF want AFCON 2025 to be a true success, there must be a noticeable improvement in officiating as the tournament progresses into the knockout rounds.