Chaos in the Africa Cup: referee whistled the end of the match twice

The match Mali–Tunisia (1-0) of the Africa cup of Nations (CAN) was chaotic, with a final whistle before time that provoked the indignation of Tunisia this Wednesday, before a return of the Mali team to the field of play, something that the Tunisians did not manage to do.

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Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe had stopped the match for the first time in the 85th minute, apparently due to a mistake, sparking anger on the Tunisian bench. After visibly turning that premature whistle into a cool-down pause, the referee ordered the game to resume.

But he stopped it a few seconds from the end of the 90th minute, even before the start of an eventual added time. This time it was the Tunisian delegation that expressed their anger, with coach Mondher Kebaier frantically waving his watch in front of the referees.

The referee quartet left escorted by the security of the stadium before the anger of the ‘Aguilas de Cartago’.

They did not come back

About half an hour later, the game seemed at times that it was going to resume. The Malians returned to the pitch to play the last seconds of regulation time and a possible extension.

But Tunisia remained in the locker room, which could be a sign of a complaint. Janny Sikazwe referees her fifth CAN. He also participated in the 2018 World Cup and directed club African Cup finals.

AFP