The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has relieved Ivorian official Doué Noumandiez of his duties as head of the referees’ committee 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 referee refused to show the footage that clearly shows and proves that there was an obvious penalty (following a handball by Oluwatosin Demehinni in the box 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, who had served as president of the referees’ committee since 2022.
His dismissal was reported by Le360 Sport, citing internal sources within the governing body.
The Ivorian’s removal is seen by many observers as the culmination of broader concerns surrounding officiating standards in recent CAF competitions.
Last year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire saw similar criticism, with referees from the round of 16 clash between Senegal and Ivory Coast (1-1, 4-5 on penalties) dismissed after widespread condemnation of their performance.
While CAF has not released an official statement confirming Noumandiez’s dismissal, sources suggest that mounting scrutiny and repeated high-profile errors left the confederation with little choice but to act decisively.
As the fallout continues, calls for increased transparency and technological consistency in African football are growing louder, with many stakeholders urging CAF to overhaul its refereeing protocols ahead of future tournaments.
Morocco’s complaint, coming in the wake of an emotionally charged final, may have served as the tipping point.
