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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has removed Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan from officiating the AFCON 2025 quarter-final between Nigeria and Algeria, footynaija.com reports.
Artan was originally appointed for the match in Marrakech on Saturday, but CAF has dropped him after it was discovered he wore boots from a brand not approved by the tournament’s sponsors. This is against CAF’s contractual rules and led to immediate action.
The decision has surprised many, especially as Artan was recently named CAF’s Referee of the Year and had performed well at the tournament.
His removal comes at a time when there are already concerns about refereeing at AFCON 2025. Several decisions earlier in the competition have been questioned, and reports say there is now tension inside CAF’s referees committee.
Africa football journalist Micky Jnr said disagreements among senior officials have caused delays in confirming referees for the quarter-final matches.
The problem is not only affecting Nigeria and Algeria. Morocco’s football federation reportedly complained about the referees appointed for their match against Cameroon. CAF has since replaced Egypt’s Amin Omar with Mauritanian official Dehane Beida.
As of Thursday, only one quarter-final had a confirmed referee. South African Tom Abongile has been chosen to officiate the Mali vs Senegal match.
Nigeria and Algeria are both unbeaten in the tournament and will meet on Saturday with a place in the semi-finals at stake.
