Benin Submits Official Petition Against DR Congo After VAR Glitch Denies Cheetahs AFCON Penalty
- Benin Republic have submitted an official petition after their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations opening match
- Gernot Rohr's men were denied a clear penalty against DR Congo after VAR malfunctioned at that time
- South African centre referee Abongile Tom officiated DR Congo's controversial 1-0 win over Benin
- A football journalist sympathises with Gernot Rohr's side, but admits nothing would fix the situation
Benin Republic has reportedly submitted an official petition to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after their 1-0 loss to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Cheetahs fell to a defeat in their opening match after Theo Bongonda capitalised on a defensive mix-up to give the Leopards the only goal, which was enough for the win.
Source: Getty Images
According to Foot Africa, the major talking point from the match was Benin's penalty appeal in the second half when DR Congo's captain, Chancel Mbemba, handled the ball in the box.
South African referee Abongile Tom went to check the video assistant referee, but found out the technology was not functioning, thus not awarding the penalty.
Head coach Gernot Rohr was visibly infuriated on the touchline while he was being briefed by the match officials in his technical area.
Benin submits petition to CAF
According to journalist Micky Jnr, Benin has submitted an official petition to CAF over the incident, which cost them the chance at scoring an equaliser.
The incident is the first major incident of the technology failure at the tournament on day three, and gives a bad spotlight to a great event so far.
AFCON has witnessed two penalties before the Benin incident, neither of which resulted in a goal. Comoros goalkeeper Yannick Pandour saved Rahimi’s penalty, and Zambia’s Willard Mwanza saved El Bilal Toure’s penalty.
Nigerian football writer JJ Opeisa sympathises with Benin, but admits that it is a lost cause with the petition they submitted to CAF.
“It is a sad situation for Benin Republic, but nothing ever comes out of challenging an in-game decision that would make up for the costly mistake,” he told Legit.ng.
“Will CAF award them the point? Declare a replay in a seven-game tournament? No, it will be an apology at best, particularly as it is a technical failure. Again, I feel sorry for Gernot Rohr and his players.”
Gernot Rohr reacts to Benin's loss
Benin head coach Gernot Rohr did not dwell on the controversial incident but praised his team for a great performance and shifted focus to the next match against Botswana.
“We witnessed a very good football match that did not deserve to have a loser. My team made me proud. It was the first time we played with this system,” he told CAF Online.
"We will now prepare well for the match against Botswana, with the advantage of having our suspended players back.”
Source: Getty Images
DR Congo's goalscorer and man of the match, Bongonda, admits that Benin gave the Leopards a great game and reinforced the fact that no team is easy to play against at AFCON.
“It was a difficult match. Personally, I didn’t know Benin very well. When you look at this AFCON, no team wins easily,” he said.
“It’s true that we only scored one goal, but we took the three points. The most important thing is to keep moving forward and go as far as possible in this competition.”
Nigeria files petition against DR Congo
Legit.ng previously reported that the NFF filed a petition to FIFA against DR Congo, challenging the eligibility of some of their players during the World Cup playoff.
The Nigeria Football Federation alleged that six Congolese players who recently switched their international allegiance failed to fulfil the country's constitution.
Proofreading by Omoleye Omoruyi, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
