The Confederation of African Football clarified its position on the use of towels on the field, following the incidents witnessed in the 2025 African Cup of Nations matches, and the resulting arbitration intervention to explain the applicable instructions.
Olivier Savary, Chairman of the Referees Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), confirmed that towels should be kept away from goalkeepers during matches, explaining that they may affect the course of play, and are not considered part of any player’s equipment on the field.
Savary said, in statements to Canal+ Sport Afrique, that the towel is not an essential equipment for the goalkeeper or any player, indicating that carrying it may only be acceptable within the framework of sportsmanship, but he stressed the need to remove it as soon as it affects the course of play on the field.
The head of the referees’ committee explained that the presence of the towel near the goal may create undesirable situations during the match, which requires the referee’s intervention to remove it, in order to maintain the orderly play and implement the refereeing regulations.
These statements came against the backdrop of the altercation that took place during the 2025 African Cup of Nations final between the substitute goalkeeper of the Senegal national team and a player of the Moroccan national team, over a towel placed near the goal of the “Lions of Teranga” team.
The tournament itself had previously witnessed a similar incident during the match between Nigeria and Morocco in the semi-finals, after the Nigerian national team goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabili, appeared placing a towel next to his goal, amid widespread circulation of information that it contained numbers or notes related to penalty kicks.
This incident ended with the disappearance of the towel during the match, before the Nigerian national team goalkeeper later commented on his official Instagram account, saying: “Use my towel that you are carrying to wipe away your tears,” following the Moroccan national team’s loss to Senegal in the final match.
Through these clarifications, CAF confirmed its commitment to implementing the arbitration instructions related to players’ equipment, while emphasizing the role of referees in immediately dealing with any tools that may affect the conduct of matches within continental championships.
