With less than five months to go before Morocco hosts the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has quietly fired its head of refereeing, Noumandiez Désiré Doué.
It’s the first public move in what appears to be a sweeping internal overhaul. But firing one man won’t fix a system riddled with inconsistency, bias allegations, and declining credibility.
The timing is no coincidence. CAF’s patience snapped following a formal complaint from Morocco over officiating in the Women’s AFCON final. The host nation lost to Nigeria in a dramatic 3–2 game, but it was the referee – not the scoreline – that grabbed headlines.
Morocco’s football federation (FRMF) submitted a CD full of controversial clips, including a disallowed penalty that left the Atlas Lionesses’ head coach Jorge Vilda fuming. “It had a psychological impact that shocked us,” he said. “That decision determined our fate.”
Doué’s dismissal was announced during a farewell meeting in Kenya, at a CHAN referees’ training camp. Behind the polite farewell lies mounting pressure. African referees have come under fire across women’s tournaments, youth qualifiers, Champions League fixtures, Confederation Cup games, and World Cup preliminaries.
CAF’s refereeing reputation, already battered, is now on life support.
Sources close to the Executive Committee confirm that major reforms are on the way. A new refereeing boss will soon be named, with candidates such as Morocco’s Redouane Jiyed, Gambia’s Bakary Gassama, and Egypt’s Essam Abdel-Fattah all under consideration.
But the most radical proposal is bringing in foreign referees – European and South American – for AFCON 2025. Yes, that would be sad. CAF, under Patrice Motsepe’s leadership, may seriously give the idea some thought as it scrambles to guarantee fairness and technical rigour. It would be an unprecedented admission that Africa’s own referees are no match for their colleagues in other confederations.
CAF will argue that this is about improving standards. But in truth, it’s a matter of survival. Too many federations were let down. North African associations, in particular, have complained of regional bias and political interference. A refereeing blunder in Morocco, the host nation, is exactly the sort of storm CAF can’t afford ahead of what is being marketed as the best AFCON in the history of the continent.
So will CAF merely reshuffle names and make symbolic gestures? Or will it finally introduce transparency, meritocracy, and independent oversight into its refereeing structures?
There’s also a risk of alienating African referees entirely. Bringing in outsiders may weather the storm, but it does little to fix the pipeline of talent – or the lack of trust in CAF’s own governance.
Sacking Doué is not a solution – it’s an invitation to start over. Whether CAF answers that call remains to be seen.
