At the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d'Ivoire, officiating was at its finest, with the Confederation of African Football's video assistant referee operation setting standards that were the envy of the Premier League and several other European leagues. Sadly, refereeing standards took a nosedive at this tournament, which many associate with the abrupt dismissal of the Ivorian Noumandiez Doue as head of Caf's refereeing department on the eve of last year's African Nations Championship.
The 59-year-old has used the League Managers Association (LMA) to ask its members what they think about the performance of match officials. Clough has often spoken out about refereeing decisions after matches, and was most recently critical of a fourth official at Mansfield Town's Carabao Cup defeat at Everton for being "sarcastic" towards him. But the Stags boss insists his desire to talk about calls made during matches and his efforts to now start a conversation about standards is not targeted at match officials themselves.
