Gusau, Eto’o challenge CAF over AFCON quarter-final referees decision

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Ibrahim Musa Gusau and his Cameroonian counterpart, Samuel Eto’o, have teamed up to contest CAF’s controversial decision to withdraw referees assigned to their respective quarter-final matches of the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

According to Romain Molina, an investigative reporter specialising in football based in Andalucía, both federation leaders are set to accuse CAF of bias over what they describe as the unjustified withdrawal and selection of match officials for the AFCON 2025 quarter-finals.

Omar Artan, who was originally selected to officiate the match between Algeria and Nigeria, was abruptly withdrawn by CAF after being penalised for wearing boots from an unapproved brand.

However, this appears to have been merely a pretext, as the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) had lodged a protest claiming that the Somali referee would unfairly favour Nigeria, citing two previous matches he officiated in which Algeria suffered defeats to Mauritania.

In the case of Cameroon, following a complaint from the Moroccan Football Federation, the initially designated referee for the match involving the Indomitable Lions, Egyptian official Amin Omar, has been replaced.

The Cameroonian Football Federation has yet to be informed of this significant change.