The president of Cameroon second-tier football club Djiko FC de Bandjoun, Joseph Feutcheu forced a game to an abrupt end in protest against a controversial penalty awarded against his side on Saturday, April 5, 2025.
According to media reports and a video clip on social media, Joseph Feutcheu was seen walking onto the pitch and instructing his players to quit the game.
After trailing their opponents, AS FAP of Yaounde, by 0-1 at the 61st minute, Djiko FC saw things move from bad to worse with a controversial penalty awarded against them about nine minutes later.
The president considered the decision unfair and quickly broke protocol and joined the players on the pitch, ordering them to leave immediately. So the game ended with about twenty minutes of regular time to spare. Their first meeting of the season had ended in a 1-1 draw.
The act of dissent could get the club relegated to the third division, a decision that might not really hurt them given that they are currently the last team in Group A on the ongoing season with just 12 points in 13 games.
Djiko FC were among a couple of clubs that filed an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sports against Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT’s) manner of handling football-related complaints in the country . However, the appeal was rejected and the appellants compelled to pay 7000 Suisse francs (about FCFA five million) to the FA.
Still in March, Joseph Feutcheu and Alphonse Fometeu, Secretary General of Aigle Royal de Moungou filed a lawsuit at the Special Criminal Court against FECAFOOT president Samuel Eto’o for alleged embezzlement of public funds.
Players quitting the pitch in protest against controversial match refereeing is fast becoming obsolete. In more civilized settings, post-match appeals are prioritized.
All the same, there’s no guarantee of a favorable outcome. So footballers, clubs and fans have learned to swallow their pills regardless of their whims, given that perfection in refereeing is only a thing of the movies.
But abandoning a match due to controversial refereeing in not only akin to Cameroon.
Just in February this year, Adana Demirspor quit the pitch when a penalty was awarded to Galatasaray in the Turkish Super Lig.
