African referees are as good as the best in the world – CAF president
CAF president Patrice Motsepe has strongly defended the standard of African officiating following widespread criticism during the AFCON 2025 tournament in Morocco.
The championship was marred by controversy surrounding refereeing decisions, including the use of VAR, with sections of fans and pundits accusing match officials of favouring host nation Morocco.
The backlash reached its peak in the final, when Senegal, who eventually emerged champions, staged a brief walk-off after a late penalty was awarded to Morocco in stoppage time, a decision that sparked intense debate across the continent.
Despite the criticism, Motsepe reaffirmed his confidence in African referees, VAR operators and match commissioners, insisting that significant progress has been made in recent years.
“We have, over the past few years, significantly improved the quality, integrity, independence, skills and expertise of African referees, VAR operators and match commissioners,” Motsepe said.
“We are determined to allocate additional financial and expert technical resources to ensure that the quality, integrity, impartiality, skills and expertise of African referees, VAR operators and match commissioners are as good as the best in the world.”
The CAF president also highlighted structural reforms introduced under his leadership, particularly the independence of the CAF Referees Committee.
“One of the first changes that I introduced when I became President of CAF was to ensure that the CAF Referees Committee is independent, impartial and consists of members who were proposed by the 54 CAF Member Associations, as well as the best qualified and respected referees in Africa,” he noted.
Motsepe stressed that perception is just as important as performance, adding that CAF is committed to ensuring African officials are globally respected.
“It is very important that African referees, VAR operators and match commissioners are perceived, respected and acknowledged as being impartial, fair and world class,” he said.
Looking ahead, the CAF boss expressed optimism that the measures being implemented will elevate African football even further on the global stage.
“I am confident that with the additional changes and extensive measures that we are introducing, African football and CAF competitions will continue to be respected, admired and amongst the best in the world.”