African football’s governing body has imposed sweeping sanctions on Algeria following incidents that overshadowed its Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal exit against Nigeria, citing conduct that undermined the integrity of the competition.
In a strongly worded disciplinary ruling, the Confederation of African Football said a combination of player misconduct, officials’ behaviour and crowd actions crossed acceptable limits before and after the 2–0 defeat that ended Algeria’s campaign.
As part of the punishment, CAF fined the Algerian Football Federation a total of $30,000 for inappropriate conduct by players and team officials, including a separate penalty linked to a general melee that erupted around the match.
Moreover, Algerian supporters were heavily penalised for actions described as disruptive and offensive.
CAF imposed fines totalling $70,000 for crowd-related offences, ranging from hostile gestures directed at match officials to attempts to breach the field of play and the use of smoke devices.
Further sanctions were handed down over fan provocations during the match.
According to CAF, the display of banknotes suggesting institutional corruption amounted to an “abusive and offensive” act, attracting an additional $50,000 fine.
Individual players were not spared. Goalkeeper Luca Zidane received a two-match suspension after a physical confrontation with Nigeria’s Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, a decision that rules him out of the opening fixtures of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers.
Similarly, right-back Rafik Belghali was handed a four-game ban, with two matches suspended, after being found guilty of threatening match officials during the heated encounter.
Reacting to the ruling, the Algerian Football Federation rejected the sanctions, describing them as excessive.
A senior federation official said the body would explore all available legal channels, adding that Algeria felt “unfairly treated despite the emotional nature of the match.”
Meanwhile, CAF is also turning its attention to events from the tournament’s final.
The governing body is expected to review Senegal’s conduct after the team briefly abandoned the pitch for 17 minutes following a penalty decision awarded to Morocco.
Although Senegal eventually returned and went on to win the final, both CAF and FIFA condemned the walkout.
A football official familiar with the matter said the incident “set a troubling precedent and damaged the image of African football on a global stage.”