The Bible said in John 1:29 that Jesus Christ is the “Lamb of God”, a sinless sacrifice provided by God to atone for our sins. And in John 3:16, it said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”.

Sacrificial lambs are used to save people or situations for the good of all. But such lambs should have a special place in the heart of those who used them for the good of all.

One such lamb today is Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo, a FIFA-listed Congolese football referee who handled the controversial 2025 AFCON final in Morocco. But was he used rightly?

Ndala has gone into the record books as the referee who officiated the most controversial AFCON final in the history of CAF since the continent’s flagship competition started in 1957.

For a referee to be listed by FIFA to handle its matches and in fact recognized by CAF to handle the final of the AFCON that had six billion digital viewers from all over the world glued to their gadgets to watch such a crucial final match shows that he knows his onions.

Ndala should have known that his decision, according to the rules of football officiating, is final. He may or may not accept the correction of the Video Assistant Referring (VAR) if he is convinced his decision is the best.

Even if the Match Assessors later decides that his decision was the wrong one, the referee could only be sanctioned one way or the other but the result of the match stays. That is what we are used to.

All that has now been torn to shreds by CAF led by South African billionaire, Patrice Motsepe, who is now running from pillar to post, trying to assuage the feelings of football stakeholders across the continent.

Ndala may have shot himself in the foot because reports have it that even though he knew the rules, he was instructed by high-ranking officials in CAF to continue with the said final, despite Senegal walking off the pitch.

It was gathered, his initial intention was to stop the match and potentially end it immediately when Senegalese players walked off in protest of a penalty awarded to Morocco in the 98th minute.

Ndala, as a sacrificial lamb, was not just used to help CAF save face so that their flagship competition wasn’t abandoned but also to show that Morocco, the preferred winner, won clean and square.

Both CAF and Morocco officials who knew the rules didn’t want to go through that route, believing that Morocco could score the penalty and win the match with two minutes left of play.

Morocco star boy Brahim Diaz blew the penalty and Senegal went on to score a goal in extra time. The referee ended the match and CAF, in the presence of FIFA president, awarded them medals and the trophy.

That was when Morocco suddenly realized that the rule was flouted and the people who allegedly instructed the referee not to follow the rules suddenly lost their voices.

Senegal became the scapegoat because the anointed favourites must be appeased for CAF to continue hosting events in their country.

May be CAF thought that stripping Senegal of the title and handing it over to Morocco would be the end of the matter. But it is not, as it seems now.

Of course Senegal wouldn’t accept to return the trophy, claiming they are the rightful champions who won on the field of play. They have headed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which is yet to decide on the matter.

CAF president, Motsepe has however, been singing like a canary telling whoever cares to hear that the continen- tal body would respect whatever decision CAS comes with.

Motsepe would however, not wait for the outcome of the case before CAS and has started a diplomatic shuttle between the two estranged African countries, Senegal and Morocco.

In the midst of the crisis, Senegal has alleged that CAF is riddled with corruption. Not surprisingly, Motsepe on his visit to Senegal assured them that their corruption allegation would not be taken with a pinch of salt but looked into.

According to Motsepe, “We have a duty to our people in Africa. If any government or institution [wants to], please go ahead, conduct the investigation. We will give you all the co-operation. In fact, I encourage you,” he stressed.

I think since Senegal has alleged corruption in CAF, the football body should ask for evidence and investigate the matter.

To show that CAF is in the know of the decision of the referee not to follow the rule to the letter by disqualifying Senegal and awarding the match to Morocco on January 18, 2026, it has remained silent on the failure of the referee.

However, as a slap on CAF and a proof that referee Ndala messed up the AFCON final, FIFA during the week dropped him from the list of African referees CAF selected to officiate at the 2026 FIFA World Cup holding in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Unlike the Lamb of God who finished His job and is now with God, the sacrificial lamb of CAF has been used and dumped and left alone to suffer the humiliation of knowing the right thing but failing to do it to please people who had a hidden agenda.