Referee Bakary Papa Gassama will officiate Algeria’s semifinal match with Nigeria in the ongoing African Cup of Nations on Sunday at the Cairo International Airport with kick-off set for 7pm Gambian time.
It is the second time that the Gambian will take to the pitch as the central referee at the 2019 edition in Algeria after he was paired with the President of The Gambia Football Federation (GFF), Mr. Lamin Kabba Bajo, in Nigeria’s group decider with the tournament’s surprise packages Madagascar in Alexandria.
Madagascar, whose fairytale debut campaign came to a disappointing end in the quarterfinals against Tunisia won that particular encounter and the Nigerians would be hoping for a better outcome as they seek to win the AFCON this year.
Papa was earlier scheduled to officiate the opening match of the competition between hosts Egypt and Zimbabwe but he was excused to miss that date in order to attend the burial of his mother who passed away in The Gambia last week. She was laid to rest at Lamin Kerewan the following day.
