Who Is Nigeria-Burundi Referee Bernard Camille? Has He Visited Nigeria & Officiated At AFCON Before?

Published: June 22, 2019

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have appointed Seychellois Bernard Camille as referee for Nigeria's opening game of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations against Burundi on Saturday evening.

Berne Tesfagiorgis O’Michael from Eritrea and Mohammed Ibrahim from Sudan are the assistant referees while Ahmad Heeralall of Mauritius is the fourth official.

Born 1975, Camille has been an international referee for eight years and has taken charge of matches in the CAF Champions League, U20 AFCON, U20 World Cup, AFCON and World Cup qualifiers and has refereed at the Africa Cup of Nations since 2013.

His most notable appointment came in the 2017 AFCON as he was the lead official in the quarterfinal clash between Ghana and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Camille has officiated three games involving the Nigerian national teams in the past, with Nigeria losing 2-1 to Mali and beating Morocco 4-3 at the 2014 CHAN, while the Flying Eagles were beaten 2-0 by Egypt in the semifinal of the 2013 U20 AFCON.

He adjudicated Warri Wolves 2-1 home win vs MK étanchéité in the CAF Confederation Cup in April 2015, and Akwa United's 3-1 vs Al-Hilal in Uyo last year.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel