Caf explain why they reversed appointment of S.A referee in Afcon final

Caf’s chairman of Referees’ Commission, Souleyman Waberi has explained the reasons behind the change in the referee who will take charge of the 2019 Afcon final between Algeria and Senegal tonight.

The football body on Wednesday announced on Twitter that South African referee Victor Gomes had been appointed to officiate the game, but made a U-turn the following day and named Cameroonian referee Alioum Alioum.

In an interview with BBC Sport, Waberi said it was a mistake by their media team and also revealed that Gomes was never given the match.

“The Caf Referees Commission did not make any appointment of the referee for today’s final until after the third-place match,” Waberi said. “I was very shocked, like anyone else, to see the announcement of Victor Gomes on Caf’s social media handles.

“The moment I saw it, I went to see Anthony Baffoe and asked him who gave the communications department the right to make such an announcement? He was also surprised about it. We then had to order that those announcements be taken off all Caf’s social media.

“This type of mistake should never happen. But the announcement of Gomes never came from the Caf Referees Commission. We must improve our communication as an organisation. What happened is not acceptable and people have the right to criticise us for this,” explained Waberi.

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