The President of the African Football Confederation (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, called for a meeting of the CAF Executive Committee in order to review the CAF regulations, including the disciplinary law.
Motsepe stated that the aim is to ensure that the judicial bodies of the Confederation have the necessary powers to impose appropriate and deterrent penalties for serious violations of the statutes and regulations and the disciplinary law of CAF, as well as for behaviors and actions that undermine or seriously harm the reputation, integrity, respect, and global competitiveness of African football and CAF competitions.
This decision came after lenient sanctions were imposed on Senegal despite the involvement of its local federation, coach, and players in threatening the Africa Cup final after their withdrawal from the match against Morocco.
The sanctions, which only included suspensions in continental matches and financial fines, were met with global criticism, considered as leniency and a legitimization for all teams to withdraw if they were dissatisfied with the result, and even if punished, the penalty would be modest and ineffective.
Patrice Motsepe stated in a statement published Friday on the official website of the African Football Confederation, “I am fully determined, as is the CAF Executive Committee, along with the presidents of the member federations of CAF, representing 54 African countries, to maintain the integrity, reputation, and global competitiveness of African football and CAF competitions and to develop them.”
He added, “I felt greatly disappointed by the unacceptable incidents that occurred in the Africa Cup of Nations (Morocco 2025) final. I have taken note of the decision of the CAF Disciplinary Committee, which was announced on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, and I respect and will adhere to every decision issued by the judicial bodies of CAF.”
In the same context, the President of the African Football Confederation affirmed that “over the past few years, we have significantly improved the quality, integrity, independence, skills, and experiences of African referees, VAR operators, and match officials. We are determined to allocate additional financial resources and specialized technical expertise to ensure that the quality, integrity, neutrality, skills, and experiences of African referees, VAR operators, and match officials are on par with the best in the world.”
He noted that among the first changes he adopted upon assuming the presidency of the African Football Confederation was to ensure that the CAF Referees Committee is independent and neutral, and consists of members nominated by the 54 member associations of the confederation, in addition to the best qualified and respected referees in Africa, stressing that “it is very important that African referees, VAR operators, and match officials are viewed, respected, and recognized as neutral and fair and at a world-class level.”
The President of the African Football Confederation concluded by emphasizing that “with the additional changes and extensive measures we are implementing, African football and CAF competitions will continue to earn respect and admiration, and be among the best in the world.”
