The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has assigned an all-Egyptian refereeing team to officiate the Algeria-DR Congo match in the Round of 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Referee Mohamed Maarouf will be the main referee, assisted by Ahmed Hossam Taha and Mahmoud Abou El-Regal, with Amin Omar serving as the fourth official. Mahmoud Ashour will be in charge of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
This will be Maarouf’s second match in the Africa Cup of Nations, having previously officiated the Burkina Faso-Equatorial Guinea match in the group stage. He was also the first referee to issue a red card in the tournament, which is being held in Morocco.
The selection of Maarouf has sparked considerable criticism in Algeria, with fans expressing concerns about the referee, given that he is not among Africa’s elite referees and his record in the Egyptian Premier League is replete with controversial incidents.
Hafid Derradji, the commentator for beIN SPORTS, tried to calm the Algerian public, emphasizing that a well-known striker or any other referee would not lead to anything positive. He urged them to wait until after the match and expressed his optimism that the Egyptian referee would perform his duties to the fullest.
Algeria had qualified for the Round of 16 after topping their group with a perfect record of three wins against Sudan, Burkina Faso, and Equatorial Guinea. However, the draw was unkind, pitting them against the Democratic Republic of Congo, who finished second in their group on goal difference behind Senegal.
