Group Stage - Matchday 1
Sunday 21 December 2025
Group A
20:00 CET - Rabat (Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah)
MOROCCO - COMOROS
Referee: Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo COD
Assistant Referee 1: Guylain Ngila Bongele COD
Assistant Referee 2: Gradel Mbilizi Mwanya COD
Fourth Official: Messie Jessie Oved Nkounkou Mvoutou CGO
Video Assistant Referee: Dahane Beida MTN
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Babacar Sarr MTN
CAF Referee Observer: René Daniel Louzaya CGO
Monday 22 December 2025
Group A
15:00 CET - Casablanca (Stade Mohammed V)
MALI - ZAMBIA
Referee: Omar Abdulkadir Artan SOM
Assistant Referee 1: Liban Abdourazak Ahmed DJI
Assistant Referee 2: Abelmiro dos Reis Montenegro STP
Fourth Official: Mehrez Melki TUN
Video Assistant Referee: Lahlou Benbraham ALG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Brighton Chimene ZIM
CAF Referee Assessor: Sinko Zeli CIV
Group B
18:00 CET - Marrakech (Stade de Marrakech)
SOUTH AFRICA - ANGOLA
Referee: Mahmood Ali Mahmood Ismail SDN
Assistant Referee 1: Mohammed Abdallah Ibrahim SDN
Assistant Referee 2: Stephen Eleazar Onyango Yiembe KEN
Fourth Official: Peter Waweru Kamaku KEN
Video Assistant Referee: Jalal Jayed MAR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Zakaria Brinsi MAR
CAF Referee Assessor: Yahya Hadqa MAR
Group B
21:00 CET - Agadir (Stade Adrar)
EGYPT - ZIMBABWE
Referee: Issa Sy SEN
Assistant Referee 1: Djibril Camara SEN
Assistant Referee 2: Nouha Bangoura SEN
Fourth Official: Pacifique Ndabihawenimana BDI
Video Assistant Referee: Dickens Mimisa Nyagrowa KEN
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Maria Packuita Cynquela Rivet MRI
CAF Referee Assessor: Ali Mulumba Tomusange UGA
Tuesday 23 December 2025
Group D
13:30 CET - Rabat (Al Medina Stadium)
DR CONGO - BENIN
Referee: Abongile Tom RSA
Assistant Referee 1: Zakhele Thusi Granville Siwela RSA
Assistant Referee 2: Souru Phatšoane LES
Fourth Official: Ahmad Imtehaz Heeralall MRI
Video Assistant Referee: Letticia Antonella Viana SWZ
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Abdalaziz Yasir Ahmed Abdalaziz SDN
CAF Referee Assessor: Inácio Manuel Cândido ANG
Group D
16:00 CET - Tanger (Grand Stade de Tanger)
SENEGAL - BOTSWANA
Referee: Abdelaziz Bouh MTN
Assistant Referee 1: Modibo Samake MLI
Assistant Referee 2: Jonathan Ahonto Koffi TGO
Fourth Official: Boubou Traoré MLI
Video Assistant Referee: Daniel Nii Ayi Laryea GHA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Diana Chikotesha ZAM
CAF Referee Assessor: Djamel Haïmoudi ALG
Group C
18:30 CET - Fes (Complexe sportif de Fès)
NIGERIA - TANZANIA
Referee: Dahane Beida MTN
Assistant Referee 1: Jerson Emiliano dos Santos ANG
Assistant Referee 2: Ivanildo Meirelles de Oliveira Sanches ANG
Fourth Official: Clément Franklin Kpan CIV
Video Assistant Referee: Haggag Hussam Azab Ibrahim EGY
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Abdulrazg Ahmed LBY
CAF Referee Assessor: Lidya Tafesse Abebe ETH
Group C
21:00 CET - Rabat (Stade Olympique de Rabat)
TUNISIA - UGANDA
Referee: Tanguy Patrice Mebiame GAB
Assistant Referee 1: Boris Marlaise Ditsoga GAB
Assistant Referee 2: Amos Abeigne Ndong GAB
Fourth Official: Abdou Abdel Mefire CMR
Video Assistant Referee: Pierre Ghislain Atcho GAB
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue CMR
CAF Referee Assessor: Fatou Gaye SEN
Wednesday 24 December 2025
Group E
13:30 CET - Casablanca (Stade Mohamed V)
BURKINA FASO - EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Referee: Mohamed Maarouf Eid Mansour EGY
Assistant Referee 1: Khalil Hassani TUN
Assistant Referee 2: Ahmed Hossam Taha Ibrahim EGY
Fourth Official: Omar Abdulkadir Artan SOM
Video Assistant Referee: Mahmoud Mohamed Ashour Hasan EGY
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Dickens Mimisa Nyagrowa KEN
CAF Referee Assessor: Ali Ould Lemghaifry Bouchaab MTN
Group E
16:00 CET - Rabat (Stade Prince Moulay Hassan)
ALGERIA - SUDAN
Referee: Pierre Ghislain Atcho GAB
Assistant Referee 1: Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue CMR
Assistant Referee 2: Carine Atezambong Fomo CMR
Fourth Official: Djindo Louis Houngnandande BEN
Video Assistant Referee: Issa Sy SEN
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Djibril Camara SEN
CAF Referee Assessor: Evarist Menkouande CMR
Group F
18:30 CET - Marrakech (Stade de Marrakech)
IVORY COAST - MOZAMBIQUE
Referee: Samuel Uwikunda RWA
Assistant Referee 1: Aymar Ulrich Eric Ayimavo BEN
Assistant Referee 2: Dimbiniaina Andriatianarivelo MAD
Fourth Official: Alhadji Allaou Mahamat CHA
Video Assistant Referee: Maria Packuita Cynquela Rivet MRI
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Brighton Chimene ZIM
CAF Referee Assessor: Yahya Hadqa MAR
Group F
21:00 CET - Agadir (Stade Adrar)
CAMEROON - GABON
Referee: Amin Mohamed Omar EGY
Assistant Referee 1: Mahmoud Ahmed Abouelregal EGY
Assistant Referee 2: Adel Abane ALG
Fourth Official: Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo COD
Video Assistant Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal ALG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Haythem Guirat TUN
CAF Referee Assessor: Ali Mulumba Tomusange UGA
6’ : obvious YC to Aguerd missed by Ndala Ngombo. Simple warning not sufficient here. Lenient line of refereeing as usual for CAF referees in their continental competitions.
ReplyDelete10’: good decision with PK for Morocco. Live, strong and firm. Well done.
ReplyDeleteApart from the penalty call, not a challenging first half for the Congolese referee, but he is clearly oriented in keeping cards. Could have issued the frist booking for holding now but he warned the player.
ReplyDeleteA few seconds after my message, first booking :)
DeleteSorry to disagree the penalty was soft
ReplyDeleteWhat was this var intervention??????
ReplyDeleteAgree. Unbelievable OFR from VAR Beida. How on earth to send referee front of screen with this good no pk decision and furthermore clear handball before.
DeleteVery wrong VAR intervention, luckily it was also for the previous handball but sorry never a clear and obvious penalty what happened after. In my opinion, this intervention should have been avoided.
ReplyDeleteMandatory YC to Morocco player for this late challenge on keeper.
ReplyDeleteVery reckless.
Hmmm, I suspect the next month will underline how good of a referees manager (now-dismissed) Noumandiez Doue was. Ndala was in my view a poor choice to referee the opening game - he improved significantly from his catastrophic level of refereeing having first arrived on the top international scene in the late 2010s, but the DRC ref still has glaring deficiencies in managing the game (despite that you can see he has been well-coached, trying to issue warnings etc). No YC at 6' is wrong, but is understandable, but the penalty is quite a poor call imo - just seconds earlier, Rahimi had already committed a swan dive with no reaction at all by the ref, and then what was eventually whistled for on Diaz could easily have been shown in the pre-Arab Cup seminar for exactly what FIFA did not want given as a penalty. Beida, not a dedicated VAR, showed his lack of experience in the role with his unneccessary intervention - the handball, clear, was missed but the following incident was not a stick-on penalty at all, rather nothing. Ndala, who was about to (unfairly, according to his prior line) issue the first YC to Comoros player at 34' before fumbling around with his pockets and amateurishly changing his mind, then opened the cards instead a couple of minutes later on a bogus incident that was barely a foul at all. Overall recognition of offences has left a bit to be desired, too. As said, I would not have appointed Jean-Jacques Ndala to handle the opener (he did well in the last AFCON, but in three shrewdly-chosen assignments by Doue); from a politcal standpoint though, the appointment was to me anything but surprising.
ReplyDeleteThis has nothing to do with politics. Now, just as a curious fact: the Secretary General of CAF, from the Congo DR, was the main advocate for Doue dismissal :)
DeleteFor those who don't know, the person responsible for referees at AFCON is Mamadou Haidara from Mali, who is currently the interim Director of the Committee.
DeleteWith due respect, your analysis is overly harsh and premature. Ngambo+Ndala hafd a good game. It's only the first assignment of the tournament, so we can't say yet about the referee committee.
Delete10' Penalty
ReplyDeletehttps://streamff.com/v/d5690813
42' No penalty upheld after OFR (handball of the attacker)
https://streambug.org/cv/2bedef
Globally good refereeing by Ndala. Nothing difficult at all. 4 YC and 1/2 forgotten. We can notice a very good performance by the two AR also.
ReplyDeleteAbout the two AR: I hope that Mr Louzaya noticed this episode and includes it in his observations.
Deletehttps://streamin.me/v/8f8c95da
Didn’t notice this but not a problem by AR here. That’s referee decision to confirm or not AR advice. Big problem for Ndala for me. But not serious at all you are right Mikael.
DeleteFor me I expected much more from Ndala Ngambo .. Not very fluid, some inconsistencies, some excessive whistles, and in my opinion, a penalty that would have caused controversy in europe.... Very average .
DeleteMauvaise désignation,
ReplyDeletePour info ,
Le président de la commission des arbitres est le congolais l'ex arbitre assistant international Olivier SAFARI
Oliver Safari is the president, and Victor Gomes is the vice president, but both are political positions. The person currently holding the position previously held by Doue, as director of referees, and who should actually be responsible for the technical aspects, is Mamadou Haidara.
DeleteTUNISIA - UGANDA : Patrice Tanguy Mebiame (GABON)
ReplyDeleteI would like to take this opportunity to thank you for also listing the referee observers. I always find it exciting to come across names that are completely unknown to me and then research the career paths of the gentlemen in question during their time as active referees. I am quite familiar with Ali Tomusange in this context, but the other three observers used so far were unfamiliar to me.
ReplyDeleteExemplary and disciplinary attitude from the BVB board regarding Karim Adeyemi's unusual behavior in the game against Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday.
ReplyDeleteHe became enraged when he was substituted in the 14th minute of the second half. He threw a water bottle on the ground and ran across the field shouting until he reached the Borussia Dortmund bench. He went to one of the seats, chose his tracksuit and headed towards the locker room, but Sebastian Kehl, the club's sporting director, stopped him.
Kehl stated that Adeyemi will be fined.
"I told him: 'Don't go to the locker room, sit there.' We will have to talk about the incident. He will receive a fine because it is something we have discussed intensely with the team in recent weeks."
Sebastian Kehl also confirmed to the reporter that one of the reasons for leaving the field early was the way he constantly addressed referee Sven Jablonski.
DR Congo - Benin : Tom Abongile
ReplyDeleteSenegal - Botswana : Abdel Aziz Bouh
Nigeria - Tanzania : Dahane Beida
Tunisia - Uganda : Tanguy Patrice Mebiame
After a first half of Nothing, OFR in 37'. To me not a very clean situation but penalty can be given and maybe expected decision for most of people.
ReplyDeleteyes agreed, I think it wasn't that obvious, because it seems the defender got both the leg and the ball .. But once VAR calls you, you have to call it.
DeleteQuite a long VAR intervention in what is a delicate challenge, and Artan awards a penalty to Mali. Good intervention imo.
ReplyDeleteSad because he was having a fine game.
Yes, indeed, but I think he believed it was the Zambian defender who was taking possession of the ball. Delicate challenge and good teamwork for me.
Delete37' Penalty after OFR:
Deletehttps://www.streambug.io/cv/ccc2ea
Otherwise, an easy-going game. Two play-on calls after follow-through challenges in 1' and 22', delaying the restart by coach in 14' and missed illegal (reckless?) use of arm close to AR1 in 29' were only worth mentioning incidents.
In the second half, one big miss in 48' (AR2 should be able to help) with a careless-reckless tackles wrongly judged as 'on the ball'. Otherwise no challenges for the Somalian who, in my opinion, wasn't 'into the game' based on lack of rapport with players / quite arrogant attitude and some wrong foul/no-foul assessments. Two mandatory YCs shown for SPA.
DeleteLet's say that such a poor game didn't encourage referee to be part of it, but yes, not the best Artan if we compare him to the referee we watched in past, for sure.
DeleteVery poor offside decision by AR1, VAR intervention to disallow 2-1 by South Africa.
ReplyDeleteErratic performance by sudanese referee Ismail. No OFR and penalty for SA perhaps a good choice but after crystal YC and second one for Modibo missed. No courage at all and very so-so performance by refs crew….
ReplyDeleteAgreed.. 2nd YC missed imo. Correct no pk decision
DeleteAfter two problematic semifinals to referee, the Italian Super Cup final went smoothly for Andrea Colombo from Como. To be fair, the level of difficulty was not the same as in the two previous matches, but the referee nevertheless helped keep everything under control, present when needed. At moment, he is without any doubt the future of Italian refereeing and is ready for the next major competition, who knows, perhaps EURO 2028 is waiting; I would bet on it. He should definitely move ahead Sozza in my opinion, hope UEFA will think about that.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100%, Chefren.
DeleteFor Euro 2028, Colombo should represent Italy and Alberola Rojas should represent Spain.
Much better than the current Mariano and Sanchez Martinez.
Issa Sy missed a clear (very dark...) yellow card in the 13th minute of Egypt-Zimbabwe:
ReplyDeletehttps://streamin.me/v/df570e30
Besides that, and a missed striking incident at 85', the Senegal ref displayed what was by far the best performance of the tournament so far - with an extremely professional and convincing style and good card choices, Sy ensured that this match never boiled over despite Egypt struggling in the match. It would be real shame, in my view, if Issa Sy was not selected for the WC! Meanwhile, I agree with what was written above about Ismail: very bad lack of alertness to reckless fouls and potential conflicts by the WC-candidate official from Sudan. At times he wasn't really in control of the match, and consequently there were confrontations in both halves of the game.
More generally speaking, the appointments in the tournament look rather poorly managed to me - way too much emphasis on appointing the big names in MD1 (so what about MD2?), and it seems that Atcho has been delegated the hot button clash Algeria-Sudan, which would be a misstep in my view.
Agree with you is perf is better than all refs of firts and segund day
DeleteAgree with you. Sy's performance was outstanding.
ReplyDeleteIsmail was poor.
Cameroon - Gabon : Amin Omar
ReplyDeleteBurkina Faso - Equatorial Guinea : Mohamed Maarouf
DeleteAlgeria Sudan : Pierre Atcho
Tuesday 23rd December
DeleteTunisia-Uganda (21:00 CET)
Var: Pierre Ghislain Atcho
Wednesday 24th December
Algeria-Sudan (16:00 CET)
Ref: Pierre Ghislain Atcho
'RFEF-CON'? :D
Yeah not the best management tbh
DeleteIt's indeed very interesting to read all CAF observers' names.
ReplyDeleteVarious background of experienced officials, a former extremely experienced woman, famous assistant referees (differently from UEFA, assistant referees are allowed to become obsevers), and our Algerian well-known Algerian name from 2014 WC!
The particular thing is that in the official graphics at the benning of the games, the observers are reported as "VAR Support" officials, that's maybe because they sit in the room with VARs. If I'm not wrong I saw that.
I'm not sure if having been an active FIFA referee is a requirement for becoming an observer at UEFA. Wasn't Férenc Szekely, for example, also "only" an assistant referee (albeit a very successful one with assignments beyond UEFA competitions)?
DeleteThey are all members of the CAF referees committee.
DeleteCAF Referees Committees
President: Olivier Safari Kabene (Congo DR 🇨🇩)
Vice-President: Victor Miguel De Freitas Gomes (South Africa 🇿🇦)
Members
CECAFA :
1. Uganda 🇺🇬 : Ali Tomusangue
2. Ethiopia 🇪🇹 : Lidya Tafessa
COSAFA :
3. Angola 🇦🇴 : Inacio Candido
4. Zambia 🇿🇲 : Janny Sikazwe
UFOA/WAFU A :
5. Senegal 🇸🇳 : Fatou Gaye
6. Mauritania 🇲🇷 : Lemghaifry Bouchaab
UFOA/WAFU B :
7. Ivory Coast 🇨🇮 : Sinko Zeli
8. Nigeria 🇳🇬 : IRABOR Faith Uwugiaren
UNAF :
9. Morocco 🇲🇦 : Hadqa Yahya
10. Algeria 🇩🇿 : Djamel Haimoudi
UNIFFAC :
11. Republic of Congo 🇨🇬 : René Daniel Louzaya
12. Cameroon 🇨🇲 : Menkouande Evariste
@Peter..... to be an UEFA observer.... it seems not te be a requirement to be a former fifa referee/assistent referee.... for exemple...Marinus (Rien) Koopman from the Netherlands has never been on the Fifa list, he only refereed Dutch league, and not even the real high profile games like Ajax-Feyenoord, or AZ-PSV and those kind off matches
DeleteGood offside from AR2 in 46’ of NGATAN. Otherwise no big discussions for Beida so far
ReplyDeleteVery easy game for Tanguy Patrice Mebiame in Tunisia-Uganda .. He barely had anything to do
ReplyDeleteReferees assignement have been really difficult to get .. I still struggle to find today's Ivory Coast-Mozambique referee ..
ReplyDeleteIvory Coast - Mozambique : Samuel Uwikunda
ReplyDeleteAll four games yesterday (by Tom, Bouh, Beida and Mebiame) were refereed well.
ReplyDeleteThe standout bad moment was this poor onside call by Souro Phatsoane, he of Japan-Spain in the last WC, which was corrected by VAR: https://streambug.org/cv/4276f9
There were huge troubles for the crew of this game in the second half to connect to VAR (indeed Tom communicated to the players that, for 10min, they were playing 'blind' and all on-field calls would stand) - so it was very fortunate that the Lesotho official's mistake happened during the live minutes!
Big moment now in Burkina Faso - Equatorial Guinea, 5 minutes in second half. Egyptian referee called to OFR for assessing a possible SFP. Original YC changed in RC. It was a stepping on opponent's foot but I think the player from Equatorial Guinea could have avoided that, so one can agree with the call by Egyptian VAR.
ReplyDeleteWow what a great advantage in the last minutes brillant work
ReplyDeleteamazing match by Maarouf
ReplyDeleteAs in the Arab Cup game between the two teams, there was a correctly issued SYC in the first half of Algeria-Sudan, with the recklessness of both offences being inarguable:
ReplyDeletehttps://streamin.me/v/b29c53cb
But unlike the tie in FIFA's competition, the difficulty level has been mostly normal for the referee - and the game has been handled effectively by Pierre Ghislain Atcho thus far.
Video of the OFR in Burkina Faso - Equatorial Guinea:
ReplyDeletehttps://streambug.org/cv/d7dfe6
In my opinion correct call by VAR. Not easy to spot live.
Later in second half, a goal was disallowed after VAR intervention for a missed offside by AR1:
Deletehttps://ibb.co/RGxZRW10
Not anything one can blame assistant referee for.
To follow, very good advantage before 1-1 goal, but rather immediate goal scored, would have been more difficult to whistle before (nevertheless, the referee must be praised). Very clear penalty. In a "pure refereeing world" one could have asked referee for booking player (at least for the reckless action) after the goal scored (but this would be too much in modern football...).
Video:
https://streambug.org/cv/d323fa