Nigerians cry out after South African referees were appointed to officiate Nigeria’s World Cup playoff match

FIFA has appointed a team of South African match officials to oversee the Super Eagles’ World Cup playoff semi-final against Gabon, a decision that has sparked backlash among Nigerian fans.

Nigeria will face Gabon on November 13 in Morocco in one of two African playoff semi-finals. The winner will advance to the final, where they will meet either Congo DR or Cameroon for Africa’s sole spot in the intercontinental playoff.

South Africa’s Tom Abongile has been named centre referee for the Nigeria–Gabon clash. His compatriot Zakhele Siwela will serve as one of the assistant referees, while Akhona Makalima will oversee the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). Hughes Ndjovi of the Benin Republic has been appointed referee assessor.

The appointments immediately triggered anger on Nigerian social media, as Nigeria, South Africa and Benin Republic were all in Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Nigeria defeated Benin 4-0 on the final day to secure a playoff berth as one of the four best runners-up. South Africa topped the group to claim an automatic World Cup ticket after FIFA overturned Bafana Bafana’s earlier win over Lesotho for fielding an ineligible player.

Following the sanction, South Africa’s minister of sports, Gayton McKenzie, publicly blamed Nigeria and went on record saying he did not want the Super Eagles to qualify for the World Cup.

Against this backdrop, many Nigerians questioned the neutrality of appointing South African referees for a crucial playoff match that could determine Nigeria’s path to the World Cup.

See some tweets below