10 Best Referees In Africa | 2024

The round leather game cannot be played without a referee; hence the presence of a referee in every football match.

Referees are first described in football by Richard Mulcaster in 1581 and since then they’ve been playing a vital role in any match.

Most high-ranked and renowned referees are in Europe and their exploits in European competitions like the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Euros, and UEFA Europa Cup competitions and to some extent, World Cup competitions have made them more popular than the rest of the other referees in the world.

However, we have some of their African counterparts who have gone on to make a name for themselves in the world by officiating in some crucial matches at a point in their respective careers.

The article was first published on Dec 13 2019 & updated on Oct 16, 2023

Top 10 African Referees Since 2010-2023

Over the years, African football has cultivated remarkable talents, and it’s not confined to the players alone who merit the praise. Referees play a major role in upholding fair play and preserving the integrity of the game.

Today, we take a look at the top best ref in Africa from 2010 till 2023

1. Djamel Haimoudi

Haimoudi is definitely one of Africa’s top referees; having won the CAF Referee of The Year award for two consecutive times. He took charge of qualifiers for the World Cup, the CAF Champions League, three African Nations Cups, and the 2011 U20 World Cup.

Haimoudi is an Algerian football referee. He has been a FIFA-listed international referee since 2004, and in 2012 he won the title of AFC referee of the year. It was a year was Djamel officiated at the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea as well as at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.

Djamel Haimoudi was selected for the World Cup 2014 in Brazil in which he officiated four matches including the match for third place.

He remains a household name in Africa that many when they hear tend to give a whole lot of respect.

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2. Badara Diatta

Another strict and no-nonsense African referee. One special thing about the Senegalese is how diplomatic he officiates; he’s always prudent with how he books every player on the pitch.

Badara Diatta has been an international referee since 1999. His list of matches is long. He was at the 2008 Olympic Games, 2008, 2010, and 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, at the last one he took charge of the final. Also, he’s a one-time winner of the CAF Referee of The Year Award.

His first big international tournament was the African Youth Tournament in Abuja (Nigeria) in October 2003. Diatta was selected for the African Cup in Egypt in 2006. He was banned for a year by CAN in 2007, but strangely enough, selected within the year for the African Cup in Ghana in 2008. Again in 2008, he got selected for the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Badara Diatta was on the 54 members’ shortlist of candidates for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but not on the definite list. Though he was selected for CAN 2010 in Angola and CAN 2012 in Gabon.

3. Noumandiez Doué

Noumandiez Doué is a football official from Côte d’Ivoire.

He became a FIFA referee in 2004. Doué has officiated in international tournaments including 2010, 2012, and 2013 African Cup of Nations competitions. He has also officiated at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 2011 CAF Champions League Final, the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, and qualifying matches for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

In 2011, Doué was named Referee of the Year by the Confederation of African Football. Noumandiez Doue was selected for the World Cup 2014 in Brazil in which he officiated two matches.

4. Eddy Maillet

Almost the only way for a tiny nation like Seychelles to achieve anything at all in international football is to get a referee selected to officiate in big tournaments. Luckily Seychelles has Eddy Maillet.

Eddy Allen Maillet is a Seychellois Football Referee, born in Victoria. He has been a full international referee for FIFA since 2001. Maillet became an international official in 2001 and three years later he officiated two group stage matches in the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunis in 2004. From then on was the CAN every two years: 2006, 2008, and 2010, qualifiers, the final of two Confederation Cups.

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Living in Seychelles must be a good thing for a referee, Eddy Maillet does not only take charge of African matches, he was also selected for the 2007 Asia Cup. Two months later he was active in the U17 World Cup in Korea. Currently, Eddy is the National Referee Coordinator of Seychelles.

Eddy got two matches in the group stage of the World Cup. Slovakia vs Paraguay and Honduras vs Chile.

5.  Gladys Lengwe

Perhaps the best female official we have in Africa. Gladys Lengwe is an international Football referee from Zambia. She is an official at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.

The 40-year-old’s achievements speak volumes. She became the first woman in Africa to officiate top-flight matches and was named Referee of the Year in her homeland in 2012.

Lengwe also showcased her skills at the international level when she became one of three female African match officials to be nominated for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 in Canada, overseeing the group match between Germany and the Women’s World Cup debutantes Thailand. She also officiates at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament 2016 in Rio – a tournament she will never forget.

6. Malang Diedhiou

Malang Diedhiou is an international football Referee from Senegal. He has officiated matches in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, the 2016 Summer Olympics, and the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. He was also a video assistant referee during the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Diedhiou was also a referee in the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia where he officiated three group-stage games. The games include Costa Rica vs Serbia, Uruguay vs Russia, and Belgium vs Japan.

His immense and unmeasurable experience in the officiating job has earned him recognition and Nominations from CAF as the Best Football Referee on numerous occasions.

7. Janny Sikazwe

Janny Sikazwe is a Zambian International Football Referee. He got his big break in 2008 at COSAFA U-20 Challenges in South Africa when he was called to replace another referee who had failed a fitness test. He is known for allowing games to flow without stoppages and many yellow cards.

He was one of the referees for the 2015 African Cup of Nations; He officiated the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, and the 2017 African Cup of Nations Final in Gabon.

He was selected to officiate at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and made his debut in the Belgium vs Panama Group G game on 18 June. The match also saw him going into the record books as he became the first Zambian referee to officiate a game at the FIFA World Cup finals. As well as another game at the FIFA World Cup in the Group H game against Poland and Japan.

8. Gehad Zaglol Grisha

Gehad Zaglol Grisha is an Egyptian Football Referee. He has been a Referee of FIFA since 2006 and a member of the CAF Elite since 2013.

Grisha made his main international debut during the 2012 African Cup of Nations, officiating a group-stage match between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso as well as the third-place match between Ghana and Mali.

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He was also selected to officiate at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, appearing as a fourth official in four matches and as the main referee in one match. Following the tournament, Grisha became a member of the CAF Elite and was selected to appear at every Africa Cup of Nations tournament since 2013 alongside other CAF competitions.

Grisha served as a referee at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and officiated a match between England and Panama. Grisha was the first Egyptian referee to appear at the World Cup since 2006.

9. Bakary Gassama

Bakary Papa Gassama is a Gambian Football Referee. Gassama became a FIFA referee in 2007. He officiated at the 2012 Olympic tournament in which he was the fourth official for the gold medal match between Mexico and Brazil. He also served as a referee at the 2012 and 2013 African Cup of Nations tournaments, as well as the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers.

In March 2013, FIFA named Gassama as one of the fifty potential officials for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On 15 January 2014, FIFA announced that he would be one of the 25 referees for the tournament.

His assistants were announced to be Evarist Menkouandé and Felicien Kabanda. He officiated the third group stage match in Group B  between the Netherlands and Chile on 23 June 2014. He officiated the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations match on 8 February 2015 between Ghana and Côted’Ivoire.

On 27 April 2017, Gassama, a one-time CAF Referee of the year was selected as CAF’s sole official for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.

His assistants were announced to be Jean Claude Birumushahu (Burundi) and Marwa Range (Kenya), and his video assistant referee was appointed to be Malang Diedhou (Senegal). His only match at the competition was the Group A match between Mexico and New Zealand.

10. Bamlak Tessema

Bamlak Tessema Weyesa is an Ethiopian. A medical researcher, a clinical coordinator, and a sociology graduate (2012) from Addis Ababa University.  He started officiating in 2003 and became international Djibouti vs Somalia in 2010 as his first international match.

He has been very active during the CECAFA Cup 2010 ( He officiated 5 matches including the Final between Tanzania and Ivory Coast) and CECAFA Cup 2011 (4 matches).

In 2012 he was also appointed for one Champions League match in Tanzania (1st round), and one CAF Confederation Cup in Egypt (2nd round).

Since he became an international referee in 2009, He has served as a referee at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, beginning with the first-round match between Djibouti and Namibia.

He has also officiated matches in the Club World Cup, CAF Champions League, and many other notable competitions.

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FAQs

Who is the best referee in Africa?

The best African football referees are Djamel Haimoudi, Badara Diatta, Noumandiez Doue, Eddy Maillet and Gladys Lengwe

The best football referees in the world have officiated any high-profile and international matches. They are respected for facilitating fairness among all players on the pitch

Who is the first woman referee in the African Cup of Nations?

Salima Mukansanga

She is not just one of the best female soccer referees but is also considered among the best African soccer referees. She became the first woman to officiate an Africa Cup of Nations game when she took charge of the match between Zimbabwe and Guinea in Cameroon.

When was the first female referee?

Amy Elizabeth Fearn MBE

Formerly known as Amy Rayner, born on 20 November 1977, is an English football referee hailing from Loughborough, Leicestershire. She achieved a historic milestone in 2010 by becoming the first woman to officiate in The Football League.

Who is the first African female referee?

Salima Mukansanga is a Rwandan football referee and was among the prominent women referees in Africa. She has officiated in various competitions, including men’s and women’s football matches.

Who is the best referee in the world history?

Pierluigi Collina

Italy’s Legend Referee Pierluigi Collina, winner of the annual IFFHS Award of THE WORLD’S BEST REFEREE six years in a row (1998 to 2003), leads the All-Time Ranking with 191 points, 7 more than German Markus Merk (3 annual Awards) and the second German Felix Brych at the third place with 161 points

How much do college soccer referees make per game?

Referees can earn up to $50 per game, depending on the team’s size.

Notably, the highest-paid referees in the MLS command $6,354 per game, while their counterparts in Spain receive $900 per game. Despite varying rates, referees in both leagues earn a substantial income.

Who is the best football referee?

Pierluigi Collina is arguably the best referee in the world. He officiated numerous high-profile matches.

Who is the most feared referee in football?

Pierluigi Collina

Which referee gives the most cards in the Premier League?

Mike Dean (4 cards per game)

Dean holds a notable lead in terms of cards per match, comfortably registering an impressive 4.03 cards per game.

He is inarguably the most iconic official in the league’s 30-year history and the only referee to show more than 100 red cards

Who is the best football referee in Europe?

Among the top football referees in Europe, notable names include Felix Brych, Mateu Lahoz, and Cüneyt Çakır.

Who is the best referee in the whole world?

Pierluigi Collina

What is the salary of a Premier League referee?

Reportedly, officials receive an annual retainer ranging from £38,500 ($46,600) to £42,000 ($50,820), contingent on experience.

This contributes to their total income, which can reach as high as £70,000 ($84,700). It’s noteworthy that Championship referees, despite a lower match fee in the second tier, receive a similar salary.

Who is the best referee in the Premier League?

The best referees in the Premier League include Michael Oliver, Anthony Taylor, Paul Tierney, Simon Hooper, Andy Madley, and Robert Jones.

Why is Pierluigi Collina the best referee?

Collina was the best referee because he was highly respected by the players, managers, and fans. He had a calm authority and a sense of fair play under great pressure.

Who is the youngest referee in the Premier League?

Who is the oldest soccer referee?

Peter Pak-Ngo Pang

Born in Indonesia on 4 November 1932 and now residing in the USA, holds the title of the oldest active football (soccer) referee. At 83 years and 137 days, he continues to officiate in the adult men’s league in San Jose, California, as of the verification date on 20 March 2016.

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