Africa Cup of Nations refereeing gets a red card

PARIS: The Africa Cup of Nations unfolded in a climate of suspicion that referees were favoring host nation Morocco, which reached a climax as Sunday’s final tipped into chaos after several contentious decisions.
The most striking image of this AFCON will remain the Senegal players leaving the pitch after Morocco were awarded a penalty at the very end of the second half.
That came shortly after referee Jean-Jacques Ndala had disallowed a goal for Senegal.
The Senegalese reaction was a sign of the prevailing mistrust shown to match officials over the three weeks of the competition.
Criticism of the refereeing is particularly marked at AFCONs, but never before had the grievances taken on such proportions, to the point of spoiling the final in Rabat and tarnishing the image of a tournament whose organization had until then been widely praised.
“From the start it was unhealthy,” Morocco coach Walid Regragui said after the Moroccans lost 1-0 in extra time in front of their home fans, referring to the oppressive atmosphere that accompanied each of his team’s games.
Beyond the pressure exerted by Moroccan supporters during their team’s matches and the limited number of seats allocated to their opponents, the sources of tension between players and referees were legion.