“It’s scandalous”, “Tunisia has been screwed”, “the referee is afraid”… On social networks, the words are crude to describe the performance of Mr. Boubou Traoré. The Malian official, on the whistle for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations match between Nigeria and Tunisia, experienced an eventful evening this Saturday evening at the Fez stadium (Morocco). Already at the center of discussions on Friday after Egypt-South Africa and Morocco-Mali, refereeing continues to be talked about in the competition.
If the first period went smoothly, the tension rose a notch at the hour mark. After conceding two goals, from Victor Osimhen (44th) and Wilfred Ndidi (50th), the Tunisians tried to react. Key element of the attack of the Carthage Eagles, Hannibal Mejbri is found in the middle of the field and is violently tackled by Junior Ajayi.
In the rest of the action, Yan Valery instantly serves Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane in depth, who heads towards the goal on his own. Problem: the referee of the match forgets to give the advantage, signals a foul and sends a yellow card to the Nigerian defender for his failed intervention on Mejbri.
Nigeria qualified for the round of 16
The Tunisians are furious, especially since Ben Romdhane, who did not hear Boubou Traoré’s whistle, continued his run and found himself on the ground after a killer tackle from Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. The Al Ahly midfielder was even forced out with an injury, while the referee stuck to his initial decision: a free kick in the middle of the field and a yellow card for Junior Ajayi. The two tackles could, however, have been worth an expulsion, for one or the other.
Then trailing 3-0 after a new goal from Ademola Lookman (66th), Tunisia managed to completely revive. First with a well-placed header from Lorient’s Montassar Talbi (74th), then thanks to a penalty from Niçois Ali Abdi obtained after viewing the video assistance for a not very obvious hand from Bright Osayi-Samuel (86th).
“We were leading 3-0, we wanted to score more goals. We conceded one, then Tunisia got a penalty. But for me, it shouldn’t have been granted. In the end, we won and that’s very good,” Lookman contested after the match.
But the Carthage Eagles were unable to come back and ended up losing (3-2). Qualification for the round of 16 is now assured for Nigeria, while Tunisia will have to do better on Tuesday against Tanzania to be able to reach the final phase.
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