Aliou Cissé, the coach of the Senegal national team, has expressed his support for his former counterpart from Algeria, Djamel Belmadi, who has often been critical of refereeing decisions.
Alongside announcing his squad for the upcoming matches against Gabon and Benin on March 22nd and 26th respectively in Amiens, France, Aliou Cissé commented on the refereeing, which he believes is subpar at the top level in Africa. Still affected by several contentious decisions during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 loss to Ivory Coast, the coach stood behind Djamel Belmadi, who frequently targeted African referees during his time as the Algeria coach.
“People say Belmadi complains a lot”
“I have been raising awareness about refereeing for three years now. When my friend Djamel Belmadi talks about refereeing, people say he complains a lot. I have been here for nine years. We have traveled all over the African continent. The difficulties faced by referees, putting pressure on us, delegates putting pressure on us, it’s common. Maybe for some, it was in that round of 16 that they noticed the refereeing. But for us, it’s our daily reality. We’ve talked about it, discussed it, but nothing changes. How could the referee not call that penalty? How could he not consult VAR? They say they penalized Krépin Diatta. But they could also penalize me and all the national team players.
This needs to stop! If we want to progress, players, coaches need to be at their best. But referees need to be at their best too,” urged the former PSG midfielder during a press conference on Friday. The second leg playoff for the 2022 World Cup lost to Cameroon (1-2) remains one of the most memorable episodes of refereeing for the former boss of the Algerian national team. A few days after losing his cool against Gambian referee Bakary Gassama, Belmadi didn’t hold back in criticizing African refereeing, which he called “prehistoric.” He had already received support from Cissé at that time.
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