By Mercy Chewe
The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has lodged a complaint to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) against the officiating exhibited by Ethiopian referee Lidya Tafesse Abebe during the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) semi-final match between Zambia and South Africa.
Zambia lost the match 1-0 as South Africa scored a controversial 90th minute penalty awarded dubiously.
FAZ general secretary Adrian Kashala in a complaint letter dated 18th July 2022 addressed to CAF General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba, advanced six key incidents including the late minute penalty awarded to South Africa.
“We therefore wish to contest against the decision of the referee to award such a penalty resulting in a goal which decided against our team progressing to the finals as we call for a serious review of the game,” read part of the FAZ appeal.
“We call for the penalty to be cancelled, that a replay be ordered and that the referee be barred from handling any games.”
Kashala said FAZ opted to file a complaint as Zambia suffered similar injustices in their quarterfinal victory over Senegal.
“We have further noted with great concern the poor officiating that characterised the tournament, specifically our games. We recorded similar incidents of poor match officiating by referees who have gone scot-free among them referee Bouchra Karboubi who has continued to handle games at the tournament as if nothing happened,” he said.
