National Thunder Pair Handed Multi-Game Suspension for Official Abuse at Africa Cup of Nations.
The team captain will miss his side's final tournament game at Afcon 2025.
Equatorial Guinea captain Carlos Akapo and teammate Josete Miranda have each been banned for four matches for verbally attacking the referee following their narrow loss by their opponents at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The ruling was handed down by a governing body committee after it reviewed the official's match report from the Group E encounter on Sunday, a result that confirmed the team's exit from the tournament.
The official reported that the two footballers "repeatedly uttered abusive and obscene remarks" towards him and his linesmen following the full-time whistle.
"Such comments were delivered in a atmosphere of extreme frustration related to the defeat, but nevertheless constitute a grave breach of the principles of sportsmanship and fair play as well as the governing rules," noted the official.
A portion of the individual suspensions for the two players have been deferred for a period of one calendar year.
Immediate Impact
The duo will now miss their nation's final tournament fixture against Algeria on midweek.
In a related development, the nation's governing body has been penalized a sum of ten thousand dollars after its technical staff and players engaged in "persistent and abusive protests" against decisions by the officials.
The official documentation detailed there was "a progressive deterioration in behaviour on the sidelines" after an unfortunate deflection by defender Saul Coco in the 74th minute.
Additional Governing Body Measures
Elsewhere, the tournament organizers have additionally penalized Burkina Faso captain Bertrand Traore the amount of $10,000 for "offensive comments" made in a post-game media appearance after his team's defeat to their Group E rivals.
