ALGERIA – CAMEROON FOOTBALL. D-Day in the thorny file of the match Algeria – Cameroon with suspicions of corruption.
It is this Thursday, April 21 that Fifa will analyze and render its verdict on the accusations of corruption in the match Algeria – Cameroon counting for the 3rd of the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. Defeated, the Algerians very quickly filed an appeal with of Fifa by reproaching “strange” refereeing decisions. If this appeal seems to have little chance of succeeding as the president of the FAF had explained, new elements and in particular recordings could tip the balance. Indeed, according to Egyptian press reports, “there is new evidence, VAR recordings have emerged in favor of Algerian football. These recordings will be important in the days to come,” Maher Genena said on April 15. on the Egyptian sports channel OnTime Sports. According to Omsac, the report of the German referees ‘VAR’ proved ‘via audio and video that referee Bakary Gassama deliberately refused to respond to their warnings about the need to return to VAR to confirm and adjudicate on his poor refereeing decisions’. “In view of the elements recorded with our experts from the investigations department, it appears with certainty that there was corruption to achieve the result that we know”, affirms Omsac adding that “FIFA is under terrible pressure and try to get out of this difficult situation with the least damage”.
Via a press release published on Monday, April 18, the FAF also provided some details on its appeal. “The Algerian Football Federation has undertaken, in accordance with the recommendations of its legal advisers, a request to FIFA to have the complaint file examined concerning the match Algeria – Cameroon, played on March 29, 2022 counting for the second leg of the play-offs of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers – Qatar 2022, by the FIFA Arbitration Committee”, indicates a communicated of the instance. “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.”
The summary of Algeria – Cameroon
The reigning African champions will not be in Qatar to compete in the next World Cup. And yet, this ticket for the next World Cup seemed to be acquired when Ahmed Touba finally cheated on an almost impassable André Onana on Tuesday, March 29. The Ajax Amsterdam goalkeeper has long disgusted the Algerian players who have looked for the fault and who have finally found it in an extension with an incredible outcome. But before, there had been cruel regulation time for the Fennecs. Cruel because the men of Djamel Belmadi have returned to this Algeria – Cameroon. Confident after their success in the first leg in Cameroon (1-0), Riyad Mahrez and his teammates directly put forward their intentions, those of attacking. But they were not rewarded. After a few harmless attempts on Onana’s cages, it’s the opposing goalkeeper Raïs Mbolhi who will stand out in the worst possible way. Indeed, the Algeria goalkeeper accidentally hit his teammate Aissa Mandi following a corner and released the ball, giving former Parisian Choupo-Moting the opportunity to come and put his selection back up to the Fennecs on the all of the two confrontations (22nd). Then follows an Algerian domination over almost the entire game. Onana then goes into wall mode and lets nothing pass. Mbolhi also imitates him in the 69th minute with an exceptional double parry. But little by little, the Algerian goalkeeper leaves the star to that of Cameroon. André Onana disgusts Mahrez, Bennacer or even Slimani with successive parades. And even when he was beaten by that header from Slimani in the 98th minute, the VAR intervened and canceled the goal for a handball from the former Monegasque. The Algerian goal will only come in the second period of extra time (118th) through Ahmed Touba who capsized the boiling Mustapha-Tchaker stadium in Blida but for only a few minutes. Indeed, Algeria thought they could hold their ticket thanks to this goal but it was without counting on the Lyonnais Karl Toko-Ekambi who, following a subtle deviation from Ngadeu, comes to punish the Fennecs for a lack of lucidity marking in the last seconds of the meeting (120th + 4). The Blida stadium had never seen a defeat for Algeria. This Tuesday, March 29, the supporters present in the enclosure therefore experienced the first and certainly the worst of the selection of Djamel Belmadi who will be deprived of the World Cup 2022 for the benefit of the Cameroonians of Rigobert Song.