AFCON 2025: Hugo Broos slams Egypt referee decisions, promises Zimbabwe showdown

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos was seething with emotion over the “poor decisions” that went against his team during the 1–0 loss to Egypt on Friday night, saying they had motivated his side to “go for the kill” against Zimbabwe on Monday.

Bafana endured their first loss in the group stage of the AFCON - and their first in 27 games overall - when they were beaten by the Egyptians courtesy of a first-half Mohammed Salah goal. As a result, they are now second in the group with three points, three behind leaders Egypt, who have qualified for the knockout stage.

Amid putting up a gallant fight, Broos felt his team were hard done by referee Pacifique Ndabihawenimana and his VAR team.

The Burundian referee, after consultation with VAR and the pitchside monitor, initially awarded the Pharaohs a penalty when he judged that Khuliso Mudau’s flailing arms impeded Salah against the run of play inside the box, thereby warranting a foul and ultimately a penalty.

He didn’t stop there. Ndabihawenimana initially judged that Yasser Mahmoud had committed a foul just outside the box after the ball struck his arm while he was sliding. However, after a lengthy VAR check for a possible penalty incident, the referee was asked to consult the pitchside monitor. He eventually did so and ruled out both a potential free kick and a penalty.

On paper, it seemed Ndabihawenimana was spot on, as the IFAB “supporting arm” handball rule states that a player’s arm used naturally for balance while falling or sliding is “not a handball if the ball hits it when it is between the body and the ground for support”.

Broos, however, was having none of it. Deep in the bowels of Stade Adrar in Agadir during his post-match press conference, he lambasted the refereeing team over both penalty incidents.

“First of all, I want to talk about the meeting that happens for 45 minutes before the start of the tournament,” Broos stated.

“They explained the rules; 25–50 rules. It’s a penalty, then it’s not a penalty, then it’s a red card for hitting a player, then it’s not a red card, then it’s whatever.

“In the end, there are too many rules that nobody knows anymore what to do. Look at the first penalty - even Mo Salah said to me after the game, ‘I was surprised it was a penalty.’ It was ridiculous, really ridiculous.

“And then we take our penalty. In the meeting, they said when the arm is extended from the body, it’s a penalty. The arm was extended, so it was a penalty. Then they say nonsense. It was a supporting arm - who invented this? It hit an extended arm. It’s a real penalty.”

Not all is lost for Bafana. They will still automatically qualify for the knockout stage if they beat Zimbabwe in their final group-stage match at Stade de Marrakech on Monday night (6pm, kick-off).

Though a draw could still steer Bafana into the last 16, Broos has warned the Warriors that his team will throw everything at them, especially after Friday’s refereeing decisions.

“The decisions that were made here today on the pitch have motivated us 200% to win the game on Monday against Zimbabwe,” Broos said.