The son of Zinédine Zidane and his teammate Rafik Belghali were suspended for two matches, announced the Algerian Federation, itself sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football.
Taken back by the patrol. Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane and defender Rafik Belghali are suspended for two and four matches respectively by CAF, after incidents following the elimination of Algeria by Nigeria in the quarter-final of the CAN, the Algerian Football Federation (FAF), which appealed, said on Wednesday.
“Goalkeeper Luca Zidane receives a two-match suspension” et “defender Rafik Belghali is sanctioned with a four-match suspension, including two suspended matches”specified the FAF in a press release, published on its website. The two players will have to serve their suspension during the next qualifying matches for CAN 2027, according to this source.
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The FAF indicated that it had “immediately initiated the appeal procedure provided for by the regulations in force in order to challenge these sanctions”according to the press release. The FAF was fined several fines totaling $100,000 for, among other things, “non-compliance with security measures, due to the behavior of its supporters who tried to force the security barriers” et “offensive and abusive gestures committed by its supporters against the referees of the match”for brandishing bank notes.
Incidents at the end of the match during the quarterfinal defeat
CAF had opened an investigation into the incidents that occurred during the Algeria – Nigeria quarter-final, where a handball from Nigerian Junior Ajayi in the area, which could have been worth a penalty, ignited the situation at the final whistle. A scuffle then broke out on the pitch where several players and staff members from both teams almost came to blows, while the match referee had to be escorted by security to leave the pitch.
In the press release announcing the referral to its disciplinary committee, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said it had collected match reports and video evidence highlighting “potentially unacceptable behavior from certain players and officials”.
Videos posted on social networks also showed tensions between Algerian supporters and stewards in the stands, as well as in the mixed zone where security had to intervene to separate journalists who were fighting.
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