AFCON 2023: Officiating Super Eagles Vs Guinea-Bissau Was Serious Challenge For Me –Karboubi

Bouchra Karboubi has revealed that officiating the game between the Super Eagles and Guinea-Bissau was a big challenge for her at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Recall that Karkoubi became the first Arab and the second African female referee to officiate a match in the African Cup of Nations for men’s football following the Rwandan Salima KAasagana who officiated in the previous edition of the tournament.

However, in a chat with Cafonline, Karboubi stated that it was a difficult test for her and delighted to represent women referees in Africa.

“Refereeing this match was an honor for me. During the last AFCON, I was the first woman to do VAR, I was in the final and on this AFCON, I am a central referee. It was a pride for me to represent African women and to represent refereeing in Africa.

“The Guinea Bissau – Nigeria match was a serious challenge for me. We had to show that we are here, the first women’s referee trio. So, we had no room for error because we did our best to live up to the trust that CAF placed in us.

“It’s true that we got congratulated everywhere. We were very happy especially with the three women for being able to show that we can be there and that we can have the same competitiveness as the men. It wasn’t easy but we were able to show that we can be there and that we can do it.