The Head of Refereeing at the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Desire Noumandiez Doue, has cited the exclusion of Nigerian referees from the 2023 African Cup of Nations roster, stating that they were not selected because they are not deemed the best, Soccernet.ng reports.

During a CAF referees training session at Sol Beni (ASEC Mimosas Training Centre) in Abidjan on Thursday, Doue emphasised the importance of Nigerian referees enhancing their performance to meet CAF standards.

The last time a Nigerian referee served as the center referee in a Nations Cup game was in 2006, marking 18 years since a Nigerian referee officiated at the tournament.

The Ivorian referee, reacting to why Nigeria has not officiated at AFCON for 18 years, acknowledged that Nigeria has competent referees but urged them to actively participate in CAF competitions.

Doue clarified Soccernet.ng that while Nigeria has good referees for domestic and regional matches, CAF seeks the absolute best for continental competitions like the AFCON.

“You have good referees in Nigeria, but this is our message to them, they need to come to the CAF competition, especially to the AFCON.

He emphasised that the selection process for referees spans over a year and a half, involving continuous scouting, evaluation, and selection.

He added: “We don’t need good referees; good referees are for the MAs, and good referees are for the zone, in CAF we need the best, so Nigerian referees are good, but they can still improve if they need assistance. They need to do more to be among the best because the selection has been started for one year and a half, so we are in a continuous process of scouting, evaluating, and selecting.”

Doue highlighted the progression from young talent to elite levels, with the final selection for AFCON being made from the elite A category.

He encouraged Nigerian referees to strive for improvement, indicating that the quest for the best referees is an ongoing process.

“You know we have different stages; you start with young talent, then you go to elite B; after that, you proceed to elite A, then you go professional among the best, and it’s among the elite A we picked from AFCON,” he continued.

Addressing the performance of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), Doue admitted that CAF is working to enhance the VAR process.

“Presently, nobody can’t learn from us, we are just trying to do our best, you know all the leagues are different, the approach is different, the philosophy is different, and the understanding is different, we are concentrating on our league and we are trying to do our best. We know we still have space for improvement because this is a continuous learning process. We know we have challenges, and we need to have space for improvement, and we will continue to do that,” he said.

He expressed satisfaction with the positive feedback on VAR’s success at AFCON but cautioned against premature praise, emphasising that the competition is ongoing and challenges may arise.

He stated: “We are glad to hear the feedback about the success of VAR at AFCON because we are always happy because it not like this before, we are very happy but at the same time we know that this is for the moment as we need to keep the standard of our performance that is why we continue to work hard.”

Doue concluded by stressing the need for continuous improvement, stating that the focus is not just on the current competition but also on maintaining high standards beyond the tournament.

“People should not praise us for now until after the competition, because when we do mistake, all of us are feeling this mistake and when referee is doing good all of us are feeling happy, that is why we will continue to work as a group.

“This is just a step, the competition is still on, we still have challenges after this competition, so for us is not to stop now and say yes we did great, no.” Said Desire.

Source: https://soccernet.ng/2024/01/we-dont-need-good-referees-caf-referee-chief-addresses-exclusion-of-nigerian-referees-from-afcon-for-18-years.html

Nigeria is notorious for quantity, not quality.

Besides, CAF wants coaches that cannot be compromised easily.

Na wa
Pathetic!
Anyways it's great they are encouraging our referees to do better.

Hehehe.

The man is trying to sugarcoat the issue,just tell us the truth.

Nigeria ref are just like our politicians. They are corrupt and will disgrace CAF, simple.


Mahmood Yakubu is the role model of Nigerian referees .

You remember these guys:
Nigerian referee, Joseph Agabor. He was caught attempting to manipulate CAF confederation cup match between Plateau United and USM Algers .

Even as corrupt as NFF is, they were able to suspend 14 NPFL referees .

Salisu Yusuf. He received $1000 from an undercover reporter to select incompetent players .

What about Amos Adamu, involved in £500,000 to be paid to him personally, to build four football pitches in Nigeria.
.

Another case is that of Samson Siasia and his 5 years ban .

Small role like this na to bring shame home.

The list is endless,so now you know why.

Haha..Euphemism.

They are simply corrupt.
This is what you get when you exhort aptitude over character with no care of striking a balance. We have serious attitudinal problem bedeviling Nigeria. From Corrupt politicians to Policemen who collect bribes to medical practitioners/caregivers who lack empathy to engineers who cut corners & use less quality materials just for profit. The list goes on.
You can master a skill in six months or less but character is very difficult to build.
Time to revisit the foundation and instill values in the coming generation cause ours is messed up already.

A whole giant of African is who you guys rubbished like this

All he said is bullshit.

Hear him; "They are not the best"

crossfm:
Hehehe.

The man is trying to sugarcoat the issue,just tell us the truth.

Nigeria ref are just like our politicians. They are corrupt and will disgrace CAF, simple.

Mahmood Yakubu is the role model of Nigerian referees .

Thank you for saying it in black and white

I wonder when will we ever get out of this sh.......t

Everywhere we go so so condenm condenm

If u hear 9ja from ur sleep,better wake up b4 dem wake u up..

Im not surprised. Corruption pro Max has destroyed this country.

If you don't have money to bribe your way to the top in this country you're just wasting your time. I'm sure those referees couldn't pay the top officials in Nigeria football federation. Corruption has finished this country

The home team always gets the advantage when a Nigerian referee handles the whistle, a penalty can just come from nowhere, just to make sure the home team wins or share from the points Not surprising

This is finishing

Select a Nigerian ref in afcon and after afcon , he will buy a house in lekki and also buy a range rover and Mercedes for himself and his wife ... as long as sport betting exists...leave it for them ... betting on the Nigerian league has minimal options ...they only put the bets that's hard to manipulate like who to win and number of goals ... with afcon , the naija ref will use yellow cards , and red cards plus penalties to chop ...
Look at Amaju picnic, moving around in a white Rolls Royce

Just say they're corrupt. Simple.

Corruption is not exclusive to a particular country.

Imagine asking Amaju to give you a honest ref

Apus:
Haha..Euphemism.

They are simply corrupt.
This is what you get when you exhort aptitude over character with no care of striking a balance. We have serious attitudinal problem bedeviling Nigeria. From Corrupt politicians to Policemen who collect bribes to medical practitioners/caregivers who lack empathy to engineers who cut corners & use less quality materials just for profit. The list goes on.
You can master a skill in six months or less but character is very difficult to build.
Time to revisit the foundation and instill values in the coming generation cause ours is messed up already.

Did you read any allegation about corruption against Nigerian referees from CAF in the write up?
Why do you people always like to paint your country black ?

This is a simple explanation on how Nigerian refs need to be committed to the CAF grade annually training, boom you have turned it to a case of corruption!

Why are we like this?

Who cursed you people with this kind of shameless and destructive attitude

CAF never complained about how corrupt Nigerian refs are, they only encourage them to upgrade themselves by attending CAF training for the refs, you people have started calling them all manner of dirty names, Nna Nigerians get big problem oh !


Super eagles played they won, you said no they didn't deserve the victory bcs they no play sexy football, they played sexy football and lost, you will curse them and families to the highest heaven.

Pls what do you people really want

Samunique:
Did you read any allegation about corruption against Nigerian referees from CAF in the write up?
Why do you people always like to paint your country black ?

This is a simple explanation on how Nigerian refs need to be committed to the CAF grade annually training, boom you have turned it to a case of corruption!

Why are we like this?

Who cursed you people with this kind of shameless and destructive attitude

CAF never complained about how corrupt Nigerian refs are, you people have started calling them all manner of dirty names, Nna Nigerians get big problem oh !


Super eagles played they won, you said no they didn't deserve the victory bcs they no play sexy football, they played sexy football and they lose , you will curse them and families to the highest heaven.

Pls what do you people really want

Have you been following NPFL games?

Samunique:
Did you read any allegation about corruption against Nigerian referees from CAF in the write up?
Why do you people always like to paint your country black ?

This is a simple explanation on how Nigerian refs need to be committed to the CAF grade annually training, boom you have turned it to a case of corruption!

Why are we like this?

Who cursed you people with this kind of shameless and destructive attitude

CAF never complained about how corrupt Nigerian refs are, you people have started calling them all manner of dirty names, Nna Nigerians get big problem oh !


Super eagles played they won, you said no they didn't deserve the victory bcs they no play sexy football, they played sexy football and they lose , you will curse them and families to the highest heaven.

Pls what do you people really want

Dey play.
They need to spell it out for you since you can't read in between lines or look inwards.
Always making excuses for why we àre where we are now.
Trying to rationalize the rot in the system and pretend all is well.
Call a spade a spade.

muller101:
Have you been following NPFL games?

Was CAF talking about NPFL ?

Was CAF complaining about how corrupt Nigerian refs are ?

Why are you destroying your country?

If you're complaining about the Nigerian refs, what about the English refs ?

With all the blunders they commit every weekend have you people stoped watching their league ?

Has their media ever crucified them openly

Pls let's try and change bcs if we destroy this nation no one will help rebuild it.

Meanwhile, some of you who claim holier than thou attitude here, you're worst than the people you complain about, it's just that you have no opportunity yet !!!

Samunique:
Was CAF talking about NPFL ?

Was CAF complaining about how corrupt Nigerian refs are ?

Why are you destroying your country?

If you're complaining about the Nigerian refs, what about the English refs ?

With all the blunders they commit every weekend have you people stoped watching their league ?

Has their media ever crucified them openly

Pls let's try and change bcs if we destroy this nation no one will help rebuild it.

Meanwhile, some of you who claim holier than thou attitude here, you're worst than the people you complain about, it's just that you have no opportunity yet !!!

Well that our league. We all know how bad the officiating is. If something is bad say it. No need for cosmetic analysis. You are even commenting as one labouring under the feeling of guilt.

muller101:
Well that our league. We all know how bad the officiating is. If something is bad say it. No need for cosmetic analysis. You are even commenting as one labouring under the feeling of guilt.

When last have you watched the Nigerian league ?

Give some examples of bad officiating and let's compare it with what the English refs do week in week out.

Meanwhile, I'm not saying there's no corruption in Nigeria's league as well as some other leagues, it's abound of course !

But what I'm saying is that you should stick to the topic.

CAF didn't say corruption is the reason Nigerian refs are not been used, period!!!

Ha

Just go straight to the point.......

Nigerian refrees are corrupt and can be manipulated

Say it in simple English no need for long tales

Oga... You are very correct.
Don't get it twisted I'm a Nigerian.

You don't have to do hide-and-seek with us, we know the truth that an average Nigerian is corrupt, which reflects in our referees.

LoL, even as a Nigerian, no be lie them dey talk.

They are simply not good enough