Abongile Tom Survives AFCON Referee Cut and Remains for Final Matches

South African referee Abongile Tom has survived the latest cut at the Africa Cup of Nations to remain among the officials retained until the end of the tournament. The Confederation of African Football has reduced the officiating pool ahead of the final four matches. This decision reflects confidence in Tom’s performances so far. At 34, he continues to carry South Africa’s flag deep into the competition.

The AFCON now has four matches remaining. Two semi finals will be played on Wednesday, with Senegal facing Egypt and Nigeria taking on Morocco. The third place play off is scheduled for Saturday, followed by the final on Sunday. These fixtures demand consistency and experience from match officials. CAF has therefore kept only referees it trusts for the decisive phase.

Tom has already officiated four matches on the field during this AFCON campaign. He took charge of the Group D opener between DR Congo and Benin. He later handled the Mali versus Tunisia Last 16 clash and the Mali against Senegal quarterfinal. These assignments placed him in high pressure matches involving strong contenders.

He has also played a key role off the field through video officiating. Tom has served as VAR in three matches involving Benin versus Senegal, Algeria versus Burkina Faso and Zambia versus Morocco. CAF allows referees trained in modern technology to rotate across roles. An official can serve as referee, fourth official or VAR depending on match day requirements.

Each CAF match is managed by seven officials. This group includes the referee, two assistant referees, the fourth official, VAR, AVAR and a referee assessor. For the final four matches, CAF has retained 16 referees in total. Tom is the only official from the COSAFA region still in contention, highlighting the scale of his achievement.

The retained list includes Mustapha Ghorbal of Algeria, Pacifique Ndabihawenimana of Burundi and Abdou Mefire of Cameroon. Others are Jean Ndala of Cote d’Ivoire, Amin Omar of Egypt, Pierre Atcho of Gabon, Peter Waweru of Kenya and Boubou Traore of Mali. They are joined by Dahane Beida of Mauritania, Jalal Jayed of Morocco and Samuel Uwikunda of Rwanda.

The remaining officials are Issa Sy of Senegal, Omar Artan of Somalia, Mahmoud Ismail of Sudan and Mehrez Melki of Tunisia. This group represents a wide spread of experience across African football. Only consistent performers progress to this stage of the tournament.

Tom’s strong showing at AFCON aligns with his growing international profile. He is also listed as a candidate video match official for the FIFA World Cup. The final selection seminar for CAF and AFC candidate VAR officials will be held from February 3 to 5 in Doha, Qatar. This places Tom closer to global football’s biggest stage and strengthens his standing among Africa’s elite referees.