Nigerians kick against appointment of Moroccan referee for Egypt clash

Nigerians have taken to social media to vent their anger after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) appointed Moroccan referee Jalal Jayed to officiate today’s 1XBET Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) third-place playoff between Nigeria and Egypt.

The Super Eagles and the Pharaohs square up at the Mohammed V Stadium, Casablanca, with kickoff slated for 5:00pm WAT, but the focus has shifted from football to officiating, barely 24 hours to the encounter.

CAF had on Friday confirmed Jayed as the centre referee, with fellow Moroccans Zakaria Brinsi and Akarkad Mostafa as assistant referees, while Hassani Khalil will serve as Assistant Referee 3. Kenya’s Peter Waweru Kamaku was named Fourth Official. The VAR team is led by Algerian official Lahlou Benbraham.

While CAF described Jayed as one of its most experienced and respected officials, many Nigerian fans were not convinced, accusing the football body of bias—especially with Egypt, a North African team, involved.

One angry fan wrote: “CAF must really not like Nigeria at all. You gave us a biased ref in Ghana for the semis and now you are giving us a Moroccan ref for the third-place match. Please tell us what we have done to deserve this.”

Another questioned CAF’s neutrality: “You have a North African team playing a West African team and you’re appointing another North African referee. Don’t you have referees from other regions? This organisation still has a very long way to go.”

Others were more scathing, with one post reading: “North African referees for a clash between a North African team and a West African team… lol 😂 Kudos CAF, we see all you do. The referee is meant to be neutral.”

Some fans went as far as accusing CAF of favouritism, branding the tournament a one-country show. “This tournament should be renamed Moroccan African Cup (MAC). It’s bribery, corruption and abysmal refereeing every damn day,” another user fumed.

However, not all reactions backed the outrage. A section of fans pushed back, reminding critics that Nigeria had earlier benefitted from a similar regional appointment without protest.

“A West African officiated our last match against a North African team. How do you think the Moroccans felt? We didn’t complain before the game, did we?” one user argued.

Despite the backlash, CAF has remained silent on the criticism, insisting through its appointment that the officiating team was selected purely on competence and experience.