The Confederation of African Football called for an investigation into an incident in which referees were physically assaulted following the conclusion of the Confederation Cup quarterfinal between Senegal’s Jaraaf and Coton Sport of Cameroon.
Jaraaf won the match in Dakar 2-1 but the Cameroonian side, which won the first leg 1-0, advanced to the semifinals due to the away goals rule.
CAF General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba on Tuesday issued a statement strongly condemning the incident while wishing a speedy recovery to the injured officials.
“These acts of incivility cannot be tolerated. They have no place in our football, but unfortunately they tend to become widespread on the pitch. CAF reserves the right to revise, upwards, the scales of sanctions for these acts,” Mosengo-Omba said.
According to CAF, Mosengo-Omba intends to propose an “in-depth reform” of its judicial bodies to allow them to act “more effectively”.
Incidents of match officials being assaulted have been widely reported this year across the continent, and not only in CAF club competitions.
In February, players of Kenyan champions Gor Mahia allegedly assaulted the referee at the end of their Confederation Cup second round preliminary qualifier against NAPSA Stars of Zambia.
The attack was sparked off by the referee’s decision to award a penalty to the Zambian club at the very end of the match which resulted in Gor Mahia failing to make it to the competition’s group stage.
In March, match officials in Ghana were also assaulted during a First Division match between Mighty Royals and Tano Bofoakwa in Wamafo.
