Algeria’s officials have lodged an appeal at Confederation of African Football (CAF), in a bid to overturn sanctions placed on two of their players, Luca Zidane and Rafik Belghali, following their antics against the Super Eagles.
Sports247 gathered that Zidane and Belghali were on Wednesday banned two and four matches respectively, due to the part they played in ugly scenes that followed Algeria’s quarter-final loss to Nigeria at the African Cup of Nations.
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The players and their colleagues were angry that Algeria were denied a penalty with the game locked at 0-0 before they eventually lost 2-0 to Nigeria, courtesy of second-half goals by Victor Osimhen and Akor Adams.
After the final whistle, a scuffle broke out between both sets of players and crew, in the aftermath of which CAF has also sanctioned Algeria’s fans for attempting to invade the pitch and waving bank notes at match officials.
CAF further announced that Algeria Football Federation (FAF) has also been fined $100,000 for security lapses and improper conduct by their players, officials and supporters.
While CAF stated that The Fenecs’ goalkeeper Zidane and defender Belghali will both serve their suspensions during the AFCON 2027 qualifiers, FAF said it was lodging an appeal to challenge the sanctions.
