Kinshasa, June 22nd 2025 (CPA).– The president of the Congolese Football Association (Fecofa), Dieudonné Sambi, has strongly condemned the violence against referees in stadiums in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a statement from the sports body received by the CPA on Sunday.
According to the statement dated June 21st and signed in Miami, United States, President Sambi called for disciplinary and exemplary sanctions to restore order and fair play in order to preserve the image of Congolese football. According to the source, he strongly urged both the management committee of the National Football League (Linafoot) and the organizing committee of the 59th edition of the Congo Cup (President’s Cup) to strictly enforce federal regulations and sanctions, applying them without fail and without hesitation, in order to prevent all those whose behaviour in sports facilities and on the field is contrary to sports ethics and fair play from causing further harm. These sanctions may include a ban on all football-related activities, depending on the seriousness of the offences, in order to clean up and improve the moral standards of football in the country.
It should be noted that this statement refers to the incidents that marred the 59th Congo Cup match between FC MK (Max Mokey) Etanchéité de Kinshasa and Les Elites d’Inga du Kongo Central last Thursday at the Tata Raphaël stadium in Kinshasa, where referee Patrick Kabangu was beaten up, and the match between Don Bosco de Lubumbashi and Lupopo, in which supporters of both teams invaded the neutral zone and broke seats at the TP Mazembe stadium in Lubumbashi.