D-Day. For three weeks, Algeria held its breath. Indeed, the whole country kept a tiny hope of participating in the 2022 World Cup which will take place in Qatar between November and December. Tiny because the Fennecs were not officially qualified for the tournament. After winning 1-0 against Cameroon in the first leg (March 25), the Greens were beaten 2-1 at the Mustapha-Tchaker stadium in Blida on March 29 during a meeting with a cruel scenario. Led 1-0 following the opener by Choupo-Moting, the Algerians equalized in extra time through Ahmed Touba (1-1, 118th).
A painful elimination against Cameroon
Virtually qualified, the Fennecs had fallen from a height two minutes later since Karl Toko Ekambi had scored the winning goal 2 to 1 (120th). An achievement that was worth a lot since it counted double with the away goal rule and sent Cameroon to the World Cup. On the mat, Riyad Mahrez’s teammates were inconsolable, as was their coach Djamel Belmadi, who collapsed on the ground. The time to regain his senses, the coach had appeared at a press conference and had instructed the referee of the meeting, Mr. Gassama.
“I say it today without fear: these referees do not respect our country, thundered the coach. They come here, see our work and don’t respect us (…) In the past two years, I haven’t seen a single referee who isn’t aggressive when you come to talk to him. I’m not looking for excuses, these are facts. A few hours later, the two men met at Houari-Boumediene airport in Algiers. Belmadi, who had to take a flight home, had come face to face with the Gambian referee, who was on the brink of being lynched by many supporters present there.
The FAF counterattacked
The coach of Algeria, he took the opportunity to settle accounts, calling him a « dishonest » referee. Always up, Belmadi was especially affected by the absence of his team in Qatar, a country where he lives and where he had his first successes as a coach. Like him, the Algerian Football Federation did not digest this non-qualification. So much so that on March 31, three days after the Algeria-Cameroon shock, she decided to ask to replay the meeting considering that the arbitration had been contentious since two goals had notably been refused.
“The Algerian Football Federation informs that the complaint it has lodged with FIFA will be submitted to the Disciplinary Committee for examination and decision on April 21, 2022. As a reminder, this complaint concerns the second leg of the play-offs of the Cup of the world – Qatar 2022 having opposed Algeria to Cameroon on March 29 in Blida». Players like the staff and the FAF were therefore impatiently awaiting this date to finally be fixed. As this date approaches, the Algerian Federation, which is imploding behind the scenes, has decided to apply pressure.
FIFA has decided
She issued a press release explaining that “this request is motivated by the fact that the complaint file submitted is based on arguments and technical considerations related to arbitration which require examination by a specialized structure”. To be more precise, the FAF would like its complaint to be referred to the arbitration committee according to Striker. The Algerian media also explains that “the FAF wants to play the “black box” recordings card”that is to say that she wants the recordings of the VAR and the exchanges between Mr. Bakary Gassama and the German referees to be revealed in order to shed light on certain gray areas and contentious decisions.
Ready to defend itself until the end, the FAF can count on the supporters of the Greens, also ready to wet the jersey. A few days ago, several Fennecs fans went to demonstrate in front of the FIFA headquarters in Zurich with masks bearing the image of Samuel Eto’o (president of Fecafoot) and Bakary Gassama, the referee of the match who is suspected of corruption. It is therefore in this particularly tense context that FIFA decided. And the body of world football has decided not to follow up on the appeal of the FAF. Despite his attempt, Algeria will not participate in the 2022 World Cup. The file is closed.
In a press release published this Saturday morning, the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) announced that it had received a laconic response from FIFA. “We regret that, according to your assessments, the decisions of the referees could have negatively influenced the course of the meeting. We have taken good note of the elements of your letter and we can already guarantee that all the incidents that occurred during the match have been carefully examined by the two video referees, in accordance with the Laws of the Game and the protocol of the game. ‘video assistance to arbitration’, explained FIFA in its response. A cold statement that puts an end to all possible disputes.