TANGIERS, Morocco, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Violent confrontations at the conclusion of two of the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals at the weekend are to be investigated with possible sanctions to be imposed, the Confederation of African Football said.
Opposing players jostled with each other after Morocco beat Cameroon in Rabat on Friday and when Nigeria overcame Algeria in Agadir on Saturday.
Video on social media showed the referee being pursued down the tunnel by Algerian players after their 2-0 defeat, and altercations among journalists from the two countries in the mixed zone, an area where reporters can interview players after the match.
“CAF has collected recent match reports and video evidence indicating potentially unacceptable behaviour from some players and officials and has opened an investigation,” a statement said.
“CAF has referred the matters to the Disciplinary Board for investigation and has called for appropriate action to be taken if the identified persons were to be found guilty of any wrongdoing.
“CAF strongly condemns any inappropriate behaviour which occurs during matches, especially those targeting the refereeing team or match organisers. Appropriate actions will be sought against anyone whose behaviour is not consistent with professional conduct at CAF events,” it added.
Algerian fans clashed with security staff after their loss to Nigeria.
Algeria’s federation on Monday confirmed it had filed a complaint with CAF over the performance of referee Issa Sy from Senegal in a one-sided match in which Algeria were roundly beaten by Nigeria.
“The Algerian Football Federation cannot ignore the refereeing performance observed during the last match, which raised numerous questions and caused considerable confusion,” it said in a statement.
“Certain decisions have damaged the credibility of African refereeing and do nothing to enhance the value of continental football on the international stage.”
Such complaints, however, are common in African football, notably from losing teams as federations seek to temper the dissatisfaction and disappointment of their fans and blame defeat on refereeing errors.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Tangiers; Editing by Ed Osmond)
