Nigeria vs Algeria: CAF Removes Omar Artan Amid AFCON Refereeing Controversy

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has removed Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan from officiating the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter-final match between Nigeria and Algeria, just hours before the game is due to be played in Marrakech.

Artan was initially appointed to handle Saturday’s high-profile clash, but reports on Thursday revealed that he had been dropped. The decision followed the discovery that the referee wore boots from a brand not approved by the tournament’s official sponsors during an earlier match.

CAF acted because this was seen as a breach of its contractual rules with commercial partners.

The decision has come as a surprise, especially as Artan was recently named CAF Referee of the Year and had received praise for his performances at the tournament in Morocco.

As at Friday morning, CAF had not officially announced a replacement referee for the match.

Artan’s removal comes at a time when there are growing concerns over refereeing at AFCON 2025. Several controversial decisions have already been recorded earlier in the competition, raising questions about the general standard of officiating.

There are also reports of tension within CAF’s referees committee, with disagreements among senior officials causing delays in confirming match officials for the quarter-final games.

The issue is not limited to the Nigeria versus Algeria match. Morocco’s football federation reportedly requested a change of referee for their quarter-final clash against Cameroon. CAF later replaced Egypt’s Amin Omar with Mauritanian referee Dehane Beida for that match.

Meanwhile, South African referee Tom Abongile has been appointed to officiate the quarter-final between Mali and Senegal. He also handled Mali’s round-of-16 win over Tunisia.

The ongoing refereeing issues have raised fresh questions about the organisation of the tournament behind the scenes.

For Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Algeria’s Warriors, the situation is an unwelcome distraction. Both teams remain unbeaten at AFCON 2025, having won all four of their matches so far.

Their quarter-final meeting in Marrakech on Saturday is one of the biggest games of the tournament, with a place in the semi-finals at stake.