By Obinna Uballa
Algeria could face disciplinary action from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) despite lodging a formal complaint over refereeing decisions in their Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final defeat to Nigeria.
CAF confirmed on Monday that it has opened a misconduct investigation into violent and unsporting scenes that followed two quarter-final matches, including Nigeria’s 2–0 victory over Algeria in Marrakech on Saturday, raising the possibility of sanctions against those found culpable.
In an official statement, CAF said it had reviewed match officials’ reports and video footage showing “potentially unacceptable behaviour” involving players and officials.
“CAF has referred the matters to the disciplinary board for investigation and has called for appropriate action to be taken if the identified persons are found guilty of any wrongdoing,” the statement said.
Footage circulating online showed Algerian players angrily chasing Senegalese referee Issa Sy down the tunnel at full time, while other videos captured confrontations involving players, team officials and journalists in the mixed zone. Algerian supporters were also seen clashing with security personnel after the match.
CAF stressed that it “strongly condemns any inappropriate behaviour” at its competitions, particularly actions directed at match officials or organisers, adding that sanctions would follow where professional standards were breached.
The investigation comes even as the Algerian Football Federation confirmed it had formally submitted a complaint to CAF over Issa Sy’s officiating, alleging several questionable decisions during the match.
In its statement, the federation said the referee’s performance “raised numerous questions and caused considerable confusion,” adding that some decisions had “damaged the credibility of African refereeing.”
Algerian officials reportedly sent a detailed report to CAF’s arbitration board, highlighting what they described as a “blatant” first-half handball by a Nigerian defender that was neither penalised nor reviewed by VAR. The report also criticised the issuing of six yellow cards to Algerian players and alleged “disrespectful” conduct by the referee at full time, including claims that he refused to greet Algerian players and officials.
The controversy has reignited criticism of officiating at the tournament, where several teams have questioned refereeing standards despite the use of VAR. Mali and Cameroon had earlier raised concerns over decisions, while Mali successfully appealed to have Amadou Haïdara’s two-match suspension reduced to one.
Some Algerian media outlets have also questioned the late appointment of Issa Sy, who replaced Somali referee Abdelkader Artan shortly before the match.
However, senior figures in the Algerian camp struck a calmer note. Captain Riyad Mahrez admitted that refereeing was not the sole reason for the team’s elimination, while head coach Vladimir Petkovic acknowledged that decisions disrupted his side’s rhythm but insisted Algeria’s exit was largely down to tactical shortcomings.
CAF confirmed that its investigation would also cover reported incidents in the tunnel area after the Nigeria match, where clashes allegedly occurred between members of both teams’ delegations as tensions flared following Algeria’s elimination.
