Africa Cup of Nations: Two Guinea players banned for insulting referee

RABAT: Two Equatorial Guinea players have been banned for insulting a referee at the Africa Cup of Nations and Burkina Faso captain Bertrand Traore was fined for post-match remarks, the respective football federations said on Wednesday.

Equatorial Guinea captain Carlos Akakpo and midfielder Josete Miranda have each been banned for four games for swearing at referee Messie Nkounou of Congo after their 1-0 loss to Sudan in Casablanca on Sunday which left them bottom of Group E. Two of the matches have been suspended for the period of a year, the federation said.

The suspensions begin on Wednesday when Equatorial Guinea face Algeria in their last group match in Rabat.

Traore, who plays for Sunderland, was fined $10,000 for “offensive remarks” he made in an interview after Algeria’s 1-0 win over Burkina Faso in Rabat on Sunday.

“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,” Traore said. “The referees are ruining the game. And then, at the end, the referee (swear word) me.”

Traore expressed regret after being charged by the Confederation of African Football, the Burkinabe federation said.

Earlier on Monday, Morocco coach Walid Regragui confirmed captain Achraf Hakimi is fit to face Zambia in their final Group A clash at the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday after two false starts in the competition so far.

Hakimi was crowned Africa’s best player at the Confederation of African Football awards last month but appeared at the ceremony in Rabat on crutches, sparking doubt over whether he would recover in time for the finals.

The Paris St Germain right-back said he felt ready to play on the eve of the tournament, but has not been used in host Morocco’s opening two games, a 2-0 victory over Comoros and a 1-1 draw against Mali.