The head of the referees committee of the African Football Confederation stated that the “towel” must be removed from the fields when it becomes something that affects the game, in a comment on the incident concerning it during the Africa Cup in Morocco.
In a statement to Canal Plus, Olivier Safar Kabini – head of the referees committee of the African Football Confederation (CAF), confirmed that the towel “is not part of the player’s official equipment,” and emphasized that it must be kept away from the goalkeeper as it could affect the game, either by distracting the opponent or obstructing the referee’s view of the goal line or interfering with the ball’s path.
Kabini stressed the necessity of working to prevent a repetition of what happened in upcoming tournaments by not allowing its use on the field.
The Tale of the Magical Towel
Apart from the violent events of the final between Morocco and Senegal, the “towel incident” dominated sports and media discussions on the African continent and on social media platforms. During the final match between the Moroccan and Senegalese national teams, everyone noticed repeated attempts by ball collectors and some Moroccan players to take or throw away the Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy’s towel away from his goal.
This towel, which Mendy used to dry his gloves and face amid the heavy rain witnessed during the match, became a primary target. It reached a point where backup goalkeeper Dibo Yahan had to spend most of the match “guarding” the towel, defending it from being snatched or moved, in scenes described as “strange” and “funny” at the same time.
Why the Towel Specifically?
Some who managed to seize the towel confirmed that it contained strange writings. Even if the goalkeeper claimed the rain was for drying his hands, history shows the Senegalese team and many African teams resort to magic and sorcery.
Aside from what happened in the final, scenes emerged showing a struggle over a “towel” in one of the Senegalese league matches without the need to dry hands due to the absence of rain, confirming beliefs about its use in practices unrelated to football.
Senegal undoubtedly specializes in towels 😳
— Tanja7 (@Tanja7com) January 26, 2026
During the Africa Cup itself, the coach of the Nigerian national team was seen trying to confront someone after entering the field and starting to perform some strange rituals.
Coinciding with these events, former Egyptian national team player “Mido” came out to confirm the team practiced sorcery, forcing players to wear special clothes and drink special drinks, after consulting with shamans.
Player Mido was suspended after revealing that the Egyptian team resorted to magic and sorcery to win tournaments 😗
— Tanja7 (@Tanja7com) January 19, 2026
All these incidents and others confirm the existence of a “sorcery” problem in African stadiums, yet the media and social media turned a blind eye to these practices solely to attack and criticize Moroccans.
The only mistake of the Moroccan players was falling into the trap of believing in these superstitions that have no actual effect, and that only affect psychologically when believed in, and this is what happened. They became a global laughingstock due to their attempts at grabbing the towel, diverting focus from the match to side events.
This should not distract attention from the real problem; CAF is required to stop these backward practices and punish anyone proven to be involved in them.
