One month after the African Football Confederation’s appeal board stripped Sénégal of their continental title due to the January 19 final disturbances against Maroc, FIFA has handed down a significant new penalty.
Jean-Jacques Ndala, the official in charge of that match, has been left out of the roster for this summer’s World Cup. While he continues to receive assignments from CAF in the Champions League and Confederation Cup, FIFA has decided to move forward without his participation.
Nevertheless, the FIFA refereeing committee has selected seven other African officials, all of whom were present at the last CAN. The roster features Jalal Jayed from Maroc, Mustapha Ghorbal from Algérie, Pierre Atcho from Gabon, Dahane Beida from Mauritanie, Tom Abongile from Afrique du Sud, Amin Mohamed from Égypte, and Omar Artan from Somalie.
The official reportedly acted under specific directives
The exclusion of Jean-Jacques Ndala was somewhat expected by many in the football world. His management of the CAN final was heavily panned, with critics pointing to several inconsistent rulings and a perceived failure to act decisively during the pitch incidents.
During an executive committee session in Dar es-Salaam on February 13, Olivier Safari, chairman of the CAF referees committee, revealed that the Congolese official was given specific instructions during the match interruption. He was allegedly told to avoid issuing second yellow cards to certain Sénégal players who had left the pitch, which would have resulted in two dismissals. This choice was reportedly made “to protect the integrity of the match” upon their return to the field.
