Unruly AFCON reporters provoke CAF clampdown

ABIDJAN – The poor behaviour of journalists at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the Ivory Coast has prompted the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to issue a new set of guidelines and tighten up media access following consultation with the local police.

Away from the on-pitch drama at AFCON, the actions of journalists have been an unhappy subplot, with abuse, fighting and near-nudity making headlines from the press box. “There was someone dancing naked in the media tribune,” a CAF media official said to assembled journalists at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Abidjan on Friday, while explaining the new guidelines. “We cannot have that.”

A statement issued by CAF on Friday, as seen by ESPN, revealed that the continent’s football governing body has taken steps to reduce what they deem as “unprofessional and unbecoming behaviour” after consulting with Ivorian authorities.

“CAF has noted the escalating unbecoming and unprofessional behaviour of some ‘media practitioners’ in working spaces at the Africa Cup of Nations,” the statement began. “CAF met with the Local Organising Committee and police to discuss the situation and find workable solutions. “While we understand that we are all football fans and are passionate about our national teams, journalists are expected to observe professional standards.”

CAF has said it will expel and remove the accreditation of any media practitioner involved in “wild celebrations and abuses [of] other media colleagues,” while also announcing a zero-tolerance approach to fighting among journalists.