Tony Elumelu has urged FIFA to improve the standard of refereeing at the ongoing 2026 World Cup following controversial decisions that contributed to the elimination of African teams.
The chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) made the appeal in a post on his X account while congratulating African nations for their performances at the tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Africa was represented by nine teams, with eight progressing to the round of 32. Egypt and Morocco advanced to the round of 16, while Morocco eventually reached the quarter-finals before exiting the competition.
However, officiating came under intense scrutiny after Egypt and Cape Verde were both eliminated by Argentina in controversial circumstances.
Egypt had a goal ruled out after a foul was adjudged at the opposite end of the pitch, while Cape Verde were denied what many considered a clear free-kick in a dangerous position deep into stoppage time before losing in extra time.
Egypt also complained that VAR failed to review an apparent foul on two of their players before Argentina scored a late winner to complete a dramatic 3-2 comeback after trailing by two goals.
Reacting to the tournament, Elumelu praised the performances of Africa’s representatives.
“Well done to all the African countries that represented our continent at the World Cup,” he wrote.
“You made Africa proud and showed the world what African football is capable of.”
The economist and entrepreneur then called on world football’s governing body to address concerns over officiating.
“But @FIFAWorldCup needs to improve the standard of refereeing because if poor officiating continues, it will damage the game.”
“Congratulations once again to every African team.”
Although Africa is still chasing its first FIFA World Cup title, the continent has continued to make progress on the global stage. The 2026 tournament marked the third time multiple African teams reached the round of 16, while Africa has now produced at least one quarter-finalist in three of the last five World Cups, following Morocco’s historic run to the semi-finals in 2022.
