The Fifa Disciplinary Committee has fined the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) for a series of events that occurred during the play-off match between Algeria and Cameroon on 29 March in Blida.
While some Algerians in bad faith believe that the refereeing of the match between the Fennecs and the Lions was marred by numerous errors, Fifa has chosen to punish the actions of certain supporters.
According to the newspaper El Khabar, Fifa’s disciplinary committee has imposed a fine of 3,000 Swiss francs on the FAF, following a damning report by the referee of the match, Bakary Gassama.
He reported that seats were thrown at him during the match, which continues to attract attention. According to the newspaper, Fifa has even shown leniency towards the FAF, which risked a much higher fine and closed-door matches: “Throwing seats or any other object is an act punishable by a financial penalty for poor organisation of up to 200,000 Swiss francs, in addition to an obligation to play two matches behind closed doors.”
It remains to be seen what the final outcome will be of the FAF’s appeal concerning the match against Cameroon. Fifa began examining the case on 21 April. Bakary Gassama has spoken out about the accusations against him since that famous match.
When asked by the Gambian daily The Standard Bakary insists: “It doesn’t really affect me. You often see this from losing teams. If they win, they consider you a good referee. If they lose, they say you’re bad.”
He added that ”I hope that this story will end as soon as possible to allow the Algerians and Cameroonians to prepare serenely for the two games in June, counting for the 2023 CAN qualifiers.”
