The statements of the Congolese Olivier Savary, head of the arbitration committee of the African Confederation, sparked ridicule in the African and international media.
Savary blamed the goalkeepers in his comment on the incident of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final between Morocco and Senegal, in his interview with the French channel “Canal+”.
The concerned person said: “The towel is not necessary equipment for the player or goalkeeper. The goalkeepers must show more sportsmanship. When the goalkeeper starts screaming and affecting the game, I think this towel should stay away from the green rectangle.”
French sports journalist Nabil Jalit criticized the words of the president of the African arbitration committee during one of the French channel’s programs directed to the African continent.
Jalit stated: “The referees show yellow cards to the players when they engage in behavior that affects the smooth running of the match. Why did the final match referee not intervene when Hakimi and Sibari went to Senegalese goalkeeper Mendy’s goal?”
The program’s guests included the famous French coach, Claude Le Roy, who won the 1988 African Cup of Nations with the Cameroonian national team. However, Savary’s statements exceeded the limits of logic.
Le Roy described the refereeing official’s words as unreasonable, while Jalit chose the term inaudible to indicate in turn the weakness of the Congolese’s argument in defending the unacceptable behavior of the Moroccan players.
It should be noted that the Moroccan national team duo, Achraf Hakimi and Ismail Sibari, apologized for what happened to them during the final of the 35th edition of “Cannes”.
The right-back of Paris Saint-Germain appeared, throwing goalkeeper Edouard Mendy’s towel outside the green rectangle after pressure from supporters.
For his part, the Dutch striker from PSV Eindhoven headed towards Senegal’s goal, to prevent reserve goalkeeper Yhvan Diouf, who was trying to protect his colleague’s towel after ball retrievers snatched it on two occasions.
#TDA 🌍: No consultants are appointed by the President of the CAF Arbitres Commission on the services 😠
Rejoin your location? pic.twitter.com/CXFJnDL8c2— CANAL+ SPORT Afrique (@cplussportafr) January 26, 2026
#statements #Chairman #CAF #Arbitration #Committee #ridiculous
#oussama_boulegheb #elhiwardz #alakhibariat.xyz #elhiwar #elhiwar-en
