The Algerian Football Federation announced the receipt of a response from the FIFA Referees Committee regarding the reservations expressed by the Algerian side regarding the match once morest Cameroon in the play-off round of the African qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Algeria lodged a protest claiming that it was subjected to an arbitrary injustice once morest Cameroon, and local reports stated that the Algerian Football Association was seeking to punish Gambian referee Bakary Gassama and replay the match that ended with Cameroon winning 2-1 and qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar.
According to a statement published by the Algerian Football Federation today, Saturday, the FIFA Referees Committee said, “We regret that, according to your assessment, the decisions of the referees may have negatively affected the course of the match.”
The statement continued, “We have taken note of all the elements contained in your correspondence and can assure you that all the events that occurred during the meeting have been carefully studied by the video referees (VAR), in accordance with the laws of the game and the protocol of the video assistant referee.”
The FAF has published a press release reporting a priori negative feedback from the FIFA arbitration committee following the appeal filed on the arbitration of Gassama.
However, the FAF site has since been inaccessible and the wording of the press release is quite unclear. #teamDZ #ALGCMR pic.twitter.com/B1kfG0mDUr— DZfoot (@DZfoot) May 6, 2022
The Algerian federation was satisfied with that, without further details or comment on the possibility of taking further legal steps following the FIFA decision.
The Algerian Federation confirmed earlier that it was determined to activate all legally permitted means to restore its rights, and to replay the match under conditions that guarantee the integrity and impartiality of arbitration. And he demanded the opening of an investigation by FIFA bodies to shed light on the refereeing in the Cameroon match.
And the FIFA Disciplinary Committee announced in early May the imposition of a fine of 3,000 Swiss francs (regarding 3,000 dollars) on the Algerian federation for using fireworks and throwing projectiles at the stadium during the Cameroon meeting that took place last March at the Mustapha Chaker stadium in Blida, near the capital. The algerian.
Algeria’s coach, Djamel Belmadi, had expressed his dissatisfaction with the level of arbitration in Africa, describing it as “disastrous…when it comes to decisive matches, arbitration in Africa becomes a market.”
And he explained – in an interview published by the Algerian Football Federation website – that “African rulers are prehistoric rulers, I worked in Europe and Asia, the referees’ mistakes are few there, and we are very far from them.”
Cameroon were placed in Group G, along with Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland.
