The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has opened disciplinary investigations into alleged misconduct involving players, officials and media personnel during the AFCON 2025 quarter-final matches between Nigeria and Algeria, and Cameroon and Morocco.
CAF confirmed in a statement on Monday that it had reviewed match reports and video footage from the games, which allegedly showed confrontations with referees and disturbances in post-match restricted areas. The incidents have now been referred to the CAF Disciplinary Board.
“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.
CAF also disclosed that it is “reviewing footage of an incident involving members of the media who allegedly misbehaved in the mixed zone area.”
Nigeria had earlier defeated Algeria 2–0 in Marrakech, with goals from Victor Osimhen and Akor Adams sending the Super Eagles into the semi-finals. However, the match reportedly descended into disorder after the final whistle as Algerian players confronted match officials, while security personnel moved to prevent an attempted pitch invasion by fans.
The Algerian Football Federation has since submitted a formal protest to CAF, citing what it described as controversial refereeing decisions by Senegalese referee Issa Sy, including a denied first-half penalty for an alleged handball in Nigeria’s penalty area.
In the other quarter-final, hosts Morocco also recorded a 2–0 win over Cameroon, but the encounter was similarly clouded by officiating disputes. Cameroonian officials and players protested the non-award of two penalties, both involving Moroccan defender Adam Masina.
Morocco’s head coach, Walid Regragui, rejected claims of officiating bias in favour of the host nation during his post-match press conference.
Reaffirming its stance, CAF warned that it would not tolerate misconduct at its competitions. “CAF strongly condemns any inappropriate behaviour which occurs during matches, especially those targeting the refereeing team or match organisers,” the statement added, noting that “appropriate actions will be sought against anyone whose behaviour is not consistent with professional conduct at CAF events.”
