The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has lodged an official complaint with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) following poor officiating in Monday’s semifinal clash between Banyana Banyana and the Copper Queens at the ongoing 2022 Morocco Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
According to a statement by FAZ Communications manager Sydney Mungala availed to the ZamFoot Crew, FAZ general secretary Adrian Kashala has advanced six key incidences including the late minute penalty awarded to South Africa in his letter to CAF.
“The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) wishes to inform its stakeholders and football family that it has lodged a formal complaint to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) against the officiating exhibited by Ethiopian referee Lidya Tafesse Abebe during the 2022 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) semi-final match between Zambia and South Africa.
In a complaint letter dated 18th July 2022 addressed to CAF General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba, FAZ general secretary Adrian Kashala advanced six key incidences including the late minute penalty awarded to South Africa.”
Kashala has called for a serious review of the game. FAZ want a replay to be ordered and the referee sanctioned.
“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 says FAZ opted to file a complaint as Zambia suffered similar injustices in their quarterfinal victory over Senegal.
Kashala said casting a blind eye to the multiple horrendous refereeing decisions would be perpetuating the injustice caused by the referee.
“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.
The Copper Queens were robbed by Referee Lydia Tafesae Abebe and Video Assistant Referees (VAR) with a suspicious penalty in the dying minutes of the match for an alleged foul by Martha Tembo on Jermaine Seoposenwe.
The Ethiopian referee had earlier awarded Banyana Banyana a penalty in the 58th minute but after a VAR check it was reversed for a free kick as the foul by Lushomo Mweemba on Cesane was outside the box.
CAF is also corrupt they won’t do anything, only way to fix this problem is by boycotting any future games.
Caf has never responded to such
Please don’t spare them this time
We are together in this , CAF should explain this and make all Zambian understand this because every Zambian saw what happened
Justice must be done.
Be serious Faz we don’t need poor actions over this
That’s just a waste of time Mr. Kashala, just move on to the next game. The referee’s decision is final. And that was a penalty because an infringement occured in the penalty area. Players should learn to to play as a team and score when opportunities present themselves instead of just displaying selfish motives! For example in that game Grace Chanda and Lubanji had opportunities to score at least a goal each in the first half , but due to selfishness, squandered the opportunities! So just forget about a replay. Just wish South Africa well in the final, as the gods were on their sad that Monday evening!
But justice must be done.
There was no contact among the two players ,the Zambian player first kicked a ball away from entering into the box before they eventually the two players failed down into the box due to balanced which was not intentional .It would bhave been a foul if it happened within the box , however,the Zambian player made sure that she just creared a ball eventually at the end of failing they coilaided since they were all in the motion. Let us be fair coz what ever happens to your friend may also happens to you next time.
We the Zambian people really want justice to prevel cause we are not going take any stance untill this is solved.
All we want is justice
There was no players contact, hence the referee was tired to continue officiating into extra time.
Our neighbours South Africa got it, The majority of world wide viewers so it, wrongly decided.
It’s interesting to see FAZ taking a stand regarding the WAFCON situation. A replay might bring some clarity, but it also raises questions about the implications for the tournament’s integrity. I hope the decision-makers consider all angles before proceeding. Overall, it’s a crucial moment for Zambian football!
It’s interesting to see FAZ pushing for a replay after the controversy at WAFCON. This could set a precedent for how disputes are handled in future tournaments. I hope the investigation is thorough, and the right decision is made for the integrity of the competition.