A senior Confederation of African Football (CAF) official has insisted the organisation is investing heavily in refereeing standards, following criticism that emerged after Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-final defeat by hosts Morocco.
Officiating decisions from the goalless tie, which Morocco won on penalties, have been widely debated, with Ghanaian referee Daniel Laryea facing scrutiny from sections of the Nigerian football community.
Speaking ahead of the match, CAF’s Head of TV and Communications, Luxolo September, said the governing body understood the importance of trust in match officials and claimed significant resources were being committed to referee development.
“The people, the investors, the fans, the emotional owners and spiritual owners of football, the fans have a certain level of confidence in the referees themselves, and CAF is paying a lot of attention to this,” September said.
Photo Credit: CAF
He revealed that CAF has introduced full-time referees as part of reforms aimed at raising officiating standards across the continent.
“It’s spending a lot of money on investing in referees. We’ve got about 20 referees who are full time at the moment, so we are investing a lot and bringing a lot of younger referees into the spotlight,” he added.
September acknowledged that challenges still occur but stressed that CAF is willing to address issues when they arise, urging a broader assessment of officiating rather than focusing on isolated incidents.
“Whenever there are challenges, we must look at them and try and resolve them. But you’ve got to look at everything holistically,” he said.
Photo Credit: CAF
His comments gained renewed attention after Nigeria’s exit from the tournament, as debate intensified over key decisions taken during the semi-final.
Despite the controversy, September pointed to what he described as the wider success of AFCON 2025, highlighting record audiences and commercial growth.
“This AFCON has recorded a record number of TV audiences, a record number of ticket sales, record commercial figures, record global partners, and record global interest ”
“You can’t look at one area and say it’s not successful. You must look at the whole area holistically.”
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He described the tournament as the most successful in the competition’s history, while conceding there was still room for improvement.
“There is no doubt that this AFCON is by far the most successful AFCON in the history of AFCON,” September said.
“Are there areas where we should improve? One hundred per cent.”
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CAF has yet to issue a specific statement addressing refereeing complaints from the Nigeria–Morocco semi-final, but discussions around officiating standards are expected to continue as the tournament draws to a close.
