The Confederation of African Football (CAF), Africa’s top football governing body, has issued disciplinary sanctions against Algeria after a series of incidents that broke out following the country’s quarter-final match against Nigeria at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, the continent’s flagship men’s national team tournament.
Okay News reports that CAF’s Disciplinary Board said the penalties were imposed on the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) over the conduct of players, officials, and supporters during and after the game against Nigeria’s national men’s football team, widely known as the Super Eagles.
Under the sporting sanctions, Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane was handed a 2-match suspension, which CAF said will be served during the Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifying campaign.
CAF also sanctioned defender Rafik Belghali with a 4-match suspension, but suspended 2 of those matches on condition that no further offences are committed. This means the remaining 2 matches will take immediate effect under the ruling.
In addition to the bans, CAF imposed a $100,000 fine on the Algerian Football Federation for what it described as improper conduct by Algerian players, officials, and supporters connected to the quarter-final.
The disciplinary decision follows CAF’s earlier move to open an investigation into post-match scenes around the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals, including the Nigeria versus Algeria fixture, after reports and videos of confrontations and crowd trouble surfaced online.
