The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Referees Committee has appointed controversial Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala to officiate the first leg of the 2026 CAF Champions League final. Ndala is expected to take charge of the first encounter between Morocco’s FAR Rabat and South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns which is scheduled for May 17 in Pretoria, South Africa.Ndala came under heavy criticism following his handling of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final.The experienced referee has remained one of CAF’s highly rated referees despite the unfortunate scenes in the AFCON final, as well as his recent games on the continent. CAF also confirmed Somali referee Omar Artan will take charge of the second leg of the final, which will take place on May 24 in Rabat, Morocco.