Egypt vs Ivory Coast: The Referee Lineup Sets the Stage for AFCON 2025 Showdown
9 January 2026
Match Preview
The Confederation of African Football announced the refereeing crew for the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal between Egypt and Ivory Coast, scheduled for Saturday at Adrar Stadium, as part of AFCON 2025 currently hosted by Morocco.
Egypt advanced to the quarterfinal after overturning Benin in the Round of 16, winning 3-1 after extra time. Ivory Coast meanwhile booked their place with a 3-0 thrashing of Burkina Faso.
CAF entrusted the match to an Algerian refereeing team led by international official Mustafa Gharebal, with fellow Algerian Lahlo Ben Brahim responsible for VAR.
Referee lineup details
The complete crew is as follows: Referee Mustafa Gharebal of Algeria; Assistant referees Abbas Akram Zarouni of Algeria, Adel Abani of Algeria, Abdul Razak Ahmed of Algeria; Fourth official Gian Jakous Njamabo of DR Congo; VAR Lahlo Ben Brahim of Algeria; VAR assistants Khalil Hassani and Abdul Aziz Yasser Ahmed of Sudan; Match officials assessor Ali Molumba of Uganda.
About the referee
Mustapha Gharebal, 40, is among Africa's top referees in recent years. He began in the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle in 2011 and earned his international badge in 2014.
He is well known to Egyptian fans, especially supporters of Al Ahly and Zamalek, after officiating the 2020 CAF Champions League final, dubbed the Final of the Century, which Al Ahly won.
Domestically, Gharebal has refereed seven matches involving Al Ahly, with four wins for the Reds, two losses, and one draw, plus 19 yellow cards. With Zamalek, he has officiated four matches, one win, one draw, two losses, and 11 yellow cards to the White Knights.
At the national level, this Egypt vs Ivory Coast match will be his second with the Pharaohs after Egypt faced Senegal in the World Cup 2022 playoff; that tie ended with Senegal winning on penalties 3-1, a memory still painful for Egyptian fans.
Punchlines: If refereeing were a sniper sport, Gharebal would be on the podium. And remember, the best drama tonight might just be a VAR check—because nothing kills suspense like a well-timed replay.
