CAF: “the towels must stay away from a goalkeeper”, the crazy outburst of the president of the referees’ committee
More than a week after the final between Senegal and Morocco, the towel affair and CAF’s statements continue to fuel the debate and tarnish the image of African football.
More than a week after the final whistle, AFCON 2025 continues to fuel the debates, far from purely sporting considerations. While Senegal added another line to its trophy cabinet by winning, in Morocco, the second Africa Cup of Nations in its history, the final against the Atlas Lions remains marked by a series of incidents that have deeply divided opinion.
Among the most commented episodes is the now infamous towel affair. Already observed in previous rounds, the situation reached its peak in the final, when stewards repeatedly tried to seize Édouard Mendy’s towel. His teammate Yehvann Diouf, who came to intervene, was even targeted on the pitch, in scenes widely shared and deemed shocking.
While this controversy resurfaced recently during a CAF Cup match at the Mohammed V Stadium, the Confederation of African Football eventually reacted. In an interview with Canal+ Afrique, the head of the referees committee, Olivier Safari, attempted to provide an explanation that was, at the very least, controversial. “It’s a problem that the organizer should take into account in future competitions. The towel is not equipment for a player or a goalkeeper. When a goalkeeper accompanies himself with a towel, it must be in a very sporting manner and with more fair play. Once he starts shouting or influencing the game, I think that towel should be far from this playing area.”, he said.
Those remarks sparked strong indignation on social media, with many seeing them as a clumsy stance, or even an implicit justification of the excesses observed. One thing is certain: beyond the trophy, this AFCON 2025 leaves behind a debate that questions the governance and the image of African football.
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