Moroccan international referee Redouane Jiyed is considering announcing his retirement from officiating matches altogether in protest against not being assigned to manage the final match of the Africa Cup of Nations due to disagreements with officials of the Referees Committee at the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Jiyed had declined to officiate the third-place playoff match between South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which ended in a victory for “Bafana Bafana” on penalties (5-6), and was subsequently replaced by Ethiopian referee Bamlak Tessema.
Reports indicate that upon learning of the appointment of Mauritanian referee Dahaan Yebdoh to officiate the final, Jiyed felt deeply disappointed and raised questions with the Referees Committee about the criteria for his exclusion from officiating the final, especially since he had been a candidate for the role.
This was particularly poignant as Jiyed had received positive evaluations for the matches he officiated during the tournament, many of which were decisive.
Redouane Jiyed, who is on the brink of retirement from refereeing, felt that the Referees Committee at the African Union did not treat him ideally.
He had previously been excluded from on-field referees at the World Cup and was kept in the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) room, and was also deprived of any African Champions League finals, leading him to refuse to officiate the consolation match, which he considered an “insult” to his refereeing career.
