Burkina Faso’s players have criticised the officiating after their 1-0 defeat by South Africa ended their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The Etalons dames needed only a draw to progress to the knockout stage for the first time in their history, but South Africa’s victory at Stade Moulay Rachid in Casablanca, Morocco, sent Burkina Faso out in the group phase on Tuesday evening.
The result left the Burkina Faso players visibly disappointed and frustrated after the final whistle. Captain Balkissa Sawadogo told BF1 TV that her side should have been awarded a penalty following a VAR review, while also acknowledging that the team had shortcomings of its own during the match.
Forward Mouniratou Compaore, who came on for the final five minutes, was more forceful in her criticism when speaking to the same broadcaster. In addition to questioning the decision not to award a penalty, she argued that South Africa’s winning goal should not have stood because of an offside offence.
The complaints added to Burkina Faso’s sense of injustice after a match in which a single goal separated the sides. However, the team’s tournament was also shaped by its results in the other group matches.
Burkina Faso recovered from a heavy 4-1 opening defeat by Cote d’Ivoire by beating Tanzania 2-1. That victory kept their qualification hopes alive, but the narrow loss to South Africa ultimately prevented Issa Balbone’s side from making further progress.
Their early elimination also means the Burkina Faso players will not take part in next year’s World Cup in Brazil.
The team had been seeking to make history by reaching the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals for the first time. Instead, their campaign ended at the group stage, with the players left to reflect on both the decisive defeat and the officiating decisions they believed had gone against them.
Sawadogo’s comments combined frustration at the penalty decision with an admission that Burkina Faso had not performed collectively well enough, while Compaore focused on what she considered two key calls: the disallowed penalty and the possible offside in the build-up to South Africa’s goal.
For Burkina Faso, the narrow defeat was therefore not only the end of their hopes of progressing in Morocco but also the result that confirmed they would miss the next Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
