The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has handed down a series of sanctions against Algeria and its players following disciplinary breaches during and after the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 match against Nigeria played on January 10, 2026.

CAF disclosed that its Disciplinary Board convened to review reports arising from the encounter and ruled that two Algerian players would miss upcoming international fixtures, while the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) was fined a total of $100,000 for multiple infractions linked to player conduct, crowd behaviour and security lapses.

Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane was suspended for two CAF official matches with the national team for misconduct. Defender Rafik Belghali was handed a four-match suspension for aggressive and intimidating behaviour towards the match referee at the end of the game. CAF, however, suspended two of Belghali’s matches for a probationary period of one year starting from the date of the decision.

In addition to the player sanctions, CAF imposed several fines on the Algerian Football Federation. The federation was fined $5,000 for the conduct of the senior national team after five players received yellow cards during the match, in breach of Article 130(a) of the CAF Disciplinary Code.

CAF also fined the federation $25,000 for the inappropriate behaviour of Algerian players and officials at the end of the match, which it said brought the fixture into disrepute, citing violations of Articles 82 and 83 of the disciplinary code.
Supporter-related incidents attracted further penalties. The Algerian FA was fined $5,000 for the use of smoke devices and another $5,000 for the throwing of objects by supporters. A fine of $10,000 was imposed for failure to comply with security measures after supporters attempted to force security barriers inside the stadium.

CAF imposed its heaviest sanction, a $50,000 fine, for what it described as offensive and abusive gestures by Algerian supporters towards match officials, including the display of banknotes.

The decisions underline CAF’s position on enforcing discipline at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations and place Algeria under scrutiny as the tournament progresses, with the sanctions taking immediate effect in line with CAF regulations.