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Posted By MrCover On January 1st, 2026

Two Equatorial Guinea players have been handed suspensions for verbally abusing a referee at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), while Burkina Faso captain Bertrand Traoré has been fined over comments made after a group match.

The Equatorial Guinea Football Federation confirmed on Wednesday that team captain Carlos Akakpo and midfielder Josete Miranda have each been banned for four matches for using offensive language against referee Messie Nkounou of Congo.

The incident occurred after Equatorial Guinea’s 1–0 defeat to Sudan in their Group E encounter in Casablanca on Sunday, a loss that left the team bottom of the group standings.

According to the federation, two of the four-match bans have been suspended for one year, meaning the players will serve two matches immediately, with the remaining two suspended.

The suspensions take effect from Wednesday, ruling both players out of Equatorial Guinea’s final group match against Algeria in Rabat.

Traoré, who plays his club football with English side Sunderland, had openly criticised the officiating after the match, claiming Burkina Faso were denied a clear penalty and accusing the referee of influencing the outcome of the game.

“It’s a shame we lost to a penalty. I believe there was a penalty on me in the opening minutes,” adding that refereeing decisions were “ruining the game.”

“It’s a shame, we lost 1-0 to a penalty. I think there was a penalty on me in the very first action of the match.

“The referees are ruining the game. And then, at the end, the referee (swear word) me,” Traoré had said in a post-match interview.

CAF’s disciplinary body ruled that the comments violated its code of conduct. However, the Burkinabe Football Federation later disclosed that Traoré expressed regret over his remarks and accepted responsibility for his actions.