The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said on Tuesday it had lodged a formal complaint with African governing body CAF over the appointment of Gambian Bakary Gassama for their clash against Cameroon in the Nations Cup semi-final on Thursday.

The EFA did not provide any explanation for its action in a brief statement.

Gassama was in charge of Egypt’s opening 1-0 loss to Nigeria in the group stage.

The match was largely free of controversial incidents, apart from a penalty appeal by Egypt that was waved away by Gassama when substitute Ahmed Zizo fell under a slight challenge in the area in the second half.

Gassama is one of Africa’s most decorated referees, having officiated at several Nations Cup editions as well as the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.

The 42-year-old is best known in Egypt for taking charge of the team’s 2-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Congo in October 2017, which took the Pharaohs to the 2018 Russia finals for the first time since 1990.

He also refereed Ahly’s 1-0 home victory over Mamelodi Sundowns in the second leg of the African Champions League final in April 2019. The South Africans won the title with a 5-1 aggregate win.

Source: Ahram Online Sports

The Indomitable Lions that won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1984 were already suffering from fatigue and aging legs and needed a new generation of players.  Cameroon had to rebuild. Soon the work began.

In 1985 Claude Le Roy arrived in Cameroon and took charge of the Indomitable Lions. He was en route to winning his first Africa Cup of Nations in 1986. But the Indomitable Lions lost in a penalty shootout against host nation, Egypt.

On Thursday last week, the 40 year old Biya regime paid tribute to French man Claude Le Roy. He was received at the Civil Cabinet at the presidency of the republic by one Mr. Samuel Mvondo Ayolo who also moonlights as Minister- Director.

The renowned Claude Le Roy was awarded a knighthood of Cameroonian Order of Valor.

In return, the French football technician handed over to Minister Samuel Mfondo Ayolo a signed copy of his book titled “Claude Le Roy, blond magician”, published by Arthand editions, in May 2021 for onward transmission to President Biya.

It is vital to include in this reprot that Claude Le Roy won the African Cup of Nations in 1988 with the Indomitable Lions.

Source: Awanireview

Cameroon’s national football team, the Indomitable Lions, Sunday donated $85,000 and dedicated their 2-0 victory over the Scorpions of Gambia to victims of the stampede that killed eight and injured 38 at Yaoundé’s Olembe stadium this week. The Indomitable Lions say they cannot be indifferent after people died or were injured as they turned out to support Cameroon players taking part at the ongoing Africa Football Cup of Nations tournament in Cameroon.

Members of Cameroon’s national football team, the Indomitable Lions, sing that God will bless victims of this week’s crush at Yaoundé’s Olembe stadium. The players sang on Saturday evening in Douala, Cameroon’s economic hub and coastal city, after beating the Scorpions of Gambia in a quarter-final game in the Africa Football Cup of Nations, AFCON.

A statement after the match from Serge Guiffo, the Indomitable Lions press officer, said the players had donated $85,000 and dedicated their 2-0 victory over the Scorpions of Gambia to victims of the stampede that killed eight and injured 38.

The statement did not say how the money would be distributed to the victims, but said family members of those who died in the stampede will be given a share.

Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, Cameroon’s minister of sports and physical education, addressed the players at Douala’s Japoma stadium after the match.

Kombi said Cameroonians are happy that their national football team players have helped people who died or were injured while they struggled to watch the Indomitable Lions play. He said Cameroonians are happy that the donation comes after a historic victory against the Scorpions of Gambia.

The crush occurred as crowds struggled to get access to Olembe Stadium in the capital city Yaoundé. Cameroon President Paul Biya ordered the injured to be treated free of charge.

Ndukong Edward, a family member of a stampede victim, said the president did not make a statement about any assistance to the families of dead victims. Ndukong said he hopes the government will assist the injured and family members of the dead. He said security lapses by Cameroon’s police might have caused the stampede.

“If the gate was opened as it was supposed to be, nothing would have happened because people would have had access to the field. But if the gate was closed by some overzealous security officers for whatever reasons, then they should take responsibility,” he said.

Cameroonian authorities Friday blamed the deadly stadium crush on what they said was a massive influx of ticketless fans who arrived late to the game involving the host team and tried to force their way in to avoid security checks and COVID-19 screening.

Nasseri Paul Bea, governor of Cameroon’s Centre region, where Olembe is located, said the government will assist victims of the crush after the tournament. He said people attending football matches during AFCON should stop uncivil behavior such as jumping fences to get into stadiums.

“We are calling on this population to follow and respect the institutions, to be able to cooperate to be sure that Cameroon does not represent a bad image by being very patriotic and responsible. It should never happen again. Cameroonians should put in their mind that what happened in Olembe should never happen again,” he said.

Bea said some government ministers, senior state officials and well-wishers have been giving financial assistance to the victims in solidarity with the state of Cameroon.

After the crush, the Confederation of African Football suspended AFCON matches at Olembe until further notice.

Cameroon is hosting AFCON for the first time in 50 years. The tournament, which is the continent’s main football event, was originally scheduled in 2019. The confederation stripped the event from Cameroon that year because stadiums were not ready.

The competition that ends on February 6 began January 9.

Source: VOA

Senegal saw off the threat of giant-killers Equatorial Guinea and won 3-1 in their Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final on Sunday to advance to the final four of the tournament in Cameroon.

Famara Diedhiou opened the scoring for Senegal, who then conceded a surprise equaliser to Jannick Buyla, only for substitutes Cheikhou Kouyate and Ismaila Sarr to come on and restore Senegal’s lead and put the result beyond doubt.

Senegal, one of the pre-tournament favourites, booked a semi-final meeting with Burkina Faso on Wednesday.

Earlier on Sunday in the first of two matches at the Ahmadou Ahidjou Stadium, Egypt edged Morocco 2-1 after extra time and will play host nation Cameroon in the other semi-final on Thursday.

Diedhiou got on the end of a defence-splitting pass from Sadio Mane after 28 minutes, outsprinted the centre backs and hit home with a first-time effort with his left foot.

It looked as if it might open the floodgates in a mismatch between Africa’s top-ranked team and an Equatorial Guinea side, who are 94 places beneath them in the FIFA rankings.

But Senegal were unable to add any more goals despite dominating the first half and then found themselves in a sticky situation five minutes after the resumption.

They had a penalty awarded against them when a pass from Iban Salvador struck captain Kalildou Koulibaly on the hand, but referee Victor Gomes changed his mind after reviewing his decision on the pitchside VAR screen.

Koulibaly was struck on the hand, but at close range and without his arm being away from his body.

Despite the disappointment of not getting a spotkick, Equatorial Guinea came storming forward and an interchange of passes on the edge of the area allowed Buyla to stab home a 57th-minute equaliser.

They had already beaten defending champions Algeria, Sierra Leone and Mali in their previous matches and were eyeing another major scalp.

Yet parity lasted less than 10 minutes as Kouyate restored his side’s lead, three minutes after coming on in the 65th minute.

A mix-up in the Equatorial Guinea defence saw the two centre backs challenge for the same high ball, spilling it backwards where Kouyate cleverly stole in and lifted his finish over goalkeeper Jesus Owono.

Senegal made sure of the result when Sarr had an easy tap-in in the 79th minute. He had come on for his first appearance of the tournament and immediately took hold of the ball, dominating the later stages of the contest.

It was his first game since he suffered a serious knee injury playing for Watford against Manchester United in November and his arrival at the tournament followed a tug-of-war over his availability between club and country.

By Haggai Fung Achuo

Mohamed Salah inspired Egypt to a place in the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals on Sunday as the record seven-time champions came from behind to defeat Morocco 2-1 in extra time in Yaounde.

Sofiane Boufal’s early penalty put Morocco in front in the last-eight tie but skipper Salah equalised for Egypt early in the second half and then made the winner for Mahmoud Trezeguet 10 minutes into extra time.

Egypt will play hosts Cameroon in the semi-finals in Yaounde on Thursday.

Morocco took a 3-2 lead with one match drawn into the seventh showdown between the north African giants in the marquee African tournament.

Coaches Vahid Halilhodzic of Morocco and Carlos Queiroz of Egypt made two changes each after last-16 victories over Malawi and the Ivory Coast respectively.

Aymen Barkok was introduced on the right side of the Moroccan midfield in place of Imran Louza and forward Munir el Haddadi replaced injured Ayoub el Kaabi.

Star Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed Elshenawy failed to recover from an injury incurred against the Ivorians and Mohamed Abou Gabal took his place.

Midfielder Hamdy Fathy was also ruled out and Ayman Ashraf, normally a defender, came in with Queiroz conscious of the threat posed when Morocco right-back Achraf Hakimi drifts forward.

It took Hakimi just three minutes to make a major impact as Ashraf failed to connect with the ball and fouled the Paris Saint-Germain star, leading to a penalty after a VAR monitor check by the referee.

After fluffing a penalty against the Comoros, Morocco changed takers, and Boufal did not let the Atlas Lions down, slotting his kick into the right corner as Abou Gabal dived in the opposite direction.

The last time Egypt fell behind in the tournament, against Nigeria in their opening group match, they failed to equalise and had to settle for second place behind the Super Eagles in the final standings.

Desperate to atone

Desperate to atone for conceding the penalty, Ashraf brought a great two-hand parried save out of Morocco goalkeeper Yassine ‘Bono’ Bounou midway through the opening half.

Egyptian defenders were not shy to shoot from long range and Ahmed Fatouh tested Bounou, with the Sevilla shot-stopper once again proving equal to the task of preventing an equaliser.

Hakimi, who scored a brilliant match-winning goal direct from a free-kick against Malawi at the same ground five days ago, got a set-piece opportunity not far from the box, but fired wide.

Queiroz, the former Real Madrid manager and twice assistant to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, was constantly agitated and both the referee and the fourth official spoke to him.

The first half ended with Morocco retaining their one-goal advantage, and not much seen of Egypt captain and talisman Salah, with the Liverpool star seeking his second goal of the tournament.

Egypt replaced injured defender Ahmed Hegazy with Trezeguet at half-time and the Aston Villa forward was narrowly wide with a snap shot just four minutes into the second half.

Morocco were under the cosh and assertive Egypt levelled on 53 minutes as Salah tapped in from close range after Bounou could only parry a Mohamed Abdelmonem header off a corner.

Tempers boiled over minutes from time after Hakimi objected to being fouled by Mostafa Mohamed, triggering pushing from the teams and both players were booked by the overworked referee.

As Morocco gradually regained the ascendancy, Abou Gabal rescued Egypt, pushing a Nayef Aguerd header on to the underside of the crossbar, and with no further goals the match went to extra time.

Egypt went ahead on 100 minutes when three Moroccan defenders failed to stop Salah, whose cross was turned in at the far post by Trezeguet.

Source: AFP

The final of the Africa Cup of Nations will go ahead at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Sunday lifted its suspension of the venue where eight people died in a crush on January 24.

CAF’s announcement means that the second semi-final scheduled for February 3 will go ahead at the ground along with the February 6 final.

“Having noted the recommendations and undertakings from government in regard to additional security provisions…the CAF Organising Committee unanimously agreed to lift the suspension imposed on the Olembe Stadium,” African football’s governing body said in a statement.

“The Local Organising Committee and the government of Cameroon having significantly increased security and resources at the Olembe Stadium, (CAF) are confident that the safety and security of spectators and visitors will be assured.”

The disaster happened prior to last Monday’s last-16 tie between hosts Cameroon and the Comoros, when supporters were caught in a crush at the south entrance gate of the stadium.

The eight dead included a child, while 38 people were also injured.

The semi-final to be played at Olembe will see Cameroon play Egypt.

The other semi-final will be played at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, also in Yaounde, on February 2.

Source: AFP

Kids have been banned from attending Africa Cup of Nations matches following the stampede which killed a six-year-old girl.

The crush prior to Cameroon’s win over Comoros resulted in eight deaths and 38 injured.

And now, in response to the tragedy, the Cameroonian government have ordered 250 extra police officers for their quarter-final clash against the Gambia on Saturday.

Along with the increased security, children under the age of 11 will not be permitted into Africa Cup of Nations games for the rest of the tournament.

One match has also been taken away from the Olembe Stadium – where the stampede occurred.

And CAF president Patrice Motsepe insists the venue will not host the semis or final unless Cameroon soccer officials can guarantee it will be safe.

The announcements came as Cameroon Sports Minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi confirmed the results of a government investigation were not yet available.

However, Kombi did reveal what they believe to be the cause of the stampede.

He said: “I will not be able to give you the results of investigations ordered by Cameroon President Paul Biya but the massive and late influx of supporters and spectators at Yaounde’s Olembe stadium caused the crush.”

Nearly 60,000 supporters attempted to enter the stadium, despite the attendance being capped at 48,000 due to Covid restrictions.

One of the reasons behind the late crush was that fans were watching coverage of another match prior to entering the stadium.

But the authorities are yet to address why security at the game directed fans towards a locked gate or why they were overwhelmed by the mass of people.

Kombi did go on to explain why extra police are being rolled out for the quarter-final at the weekend.

He said it is ‘to stop the uncivil behaviour of Cameroonians who want to force themselves into the stadium when they do not have entry tickets and negative COVID-19 test results’.

In order to attend matches at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, supporters must present negative Covid tests and proof they are vaccinated.

Another issue involving fans took place earlier in the tournament when 40 supporters invaded the pitch during a match between Algeria and Ivory Coast.

Cameroon were originally set to host the tournament in 2019 before it was stripped from them due to issues with stadium preparations.

Source: The Sun