The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has decided to exclude Gabonese referee Pierre Atcho from the Africa Cup of Nations due to refereeing errors committed during the match between Ivory Coast and Senegal in the tournament’s knockout stage.
This decision was made by the CAF’s administrative body following complaints from the Ivory Coast and Senegal national teams.
During the match, which ended with Ivory Coast’s victory in a penalty shootout, controversial refereeing decisions were made, leading to Atcho being omitted from the list of referees for the later stages of the tournament.
The Gabonese referee failed to issue a red card to Senegal’s striker Sadio Mane for a highly aggressive tackle on his opponent at the beginning of the game and did not seek advice or consultation from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Another reason behind the referee’s exclusion is his failure to award a legitimate penalty to Ismaïla Sarr, a star player of the Senegal national team, who was blatantly fouled by an Ivory Coast player, and Atcho’s refusal to consult the VAR.
Atcho had previously made several serious errors against Morocco’s Wydad Athletic Club during their match against Tanzania’s Simba in the fourth round of the African Champions League.
