The appeal filed by Algeria against arbitration during the qualifying play-off for the 2022 World Cup lost against Cameroon was rejected by FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) which considers “closed file”. After winning the first leg 1-0 in Cameroon, the Fennecs were eliminated 2-1 on March 29 in the return home by a goal scored in the last second of extra time by Karl Toko-Ekambi.
On March 31, the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) announced the introduction of an appeal to FIFA and asked to have the match replayed because of “scandalous arbitration” by Gambian Bakary Gassama. But the FIFA referees committee rejected this request, according to a letter made public on Saturday by the Algerian Federation.
“We regret that, according to your assessment, the decisions of the referees could have negatively influenced the course of the match. (…) All the incidents that occurred during the match were carefully examined by the two video referees, in accordance with the laws of the game and the video assistance protocol for refereeing.the commission wrote.
Contacted by AFP, FIFA confirmed that the FAF had seized its disciplinary committee and had requested the analysis of its arbitration committee. “FIFA has responded to the FAF on these two files and considers the file closed”a FIFA spokesperson told AFP in an email.
Algerian coach Djamel Belmadi repeatedly criticized the refereeing of this match in particular and African refereeing in general. In Algeria, the elimination of the Fennecs was experienced as a national drama. Supporters demonstrated several times in front of the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
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