HIBAPRESS
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has decided to impose disciplinary sanctions on a number of players due to statements and behaviors deemed offensive to referees during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations held in Morocco until January 18th.
The Disciplinary Committee of “CAF” imposed a fine of 10,000 euros on Burkinabe international Bertrand Traoré, following his criticism of the referee of the Algeria vs. Burkina Faso match, which ended with a victory for the Algerian national team with one goal to nil. Traoré considered that the referee's decisions negatively affected his country's team's chances in the match, but the committee only settled for the financial penalty after the player submitted a formal apology during the hearing, without imposing any sporting suspension on him.
In contrast, the Disciplinary Committee tightened its sanctions against Equatorial Guinea players José Miranda and Carlos Akapo, deciding to suspend each of them for four matches, two of which were suspended, for insulting Congolese referee Messi Nkono during their team's match against Sudan, which ended with Equatorial Guinea losing with a score of one goal to nil on December 28th.
This failure led to the elimination of the Equatorial Guinea national team from the competition, before losing again to Algeria with a score of 3-1 in a formal match in the final round of the group stage.
These decisions come within the framework of the African Confederation's keenness to preserve the prestige of refereeing and ensure discipline within the tournament, especially in light of the wide media and public follow-up that the current edition enjoys, and the adoption of modern organizational and technical means.
Bertrand Traoré will be eligible to participate in the round of 16 match, after he was absent from the Sudan match by a technical decision, while the two Equatorial Guinea players will remain away from the fields until the suspension imposed on them is exhausted.
