January 13, (THEWILL) – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has initiated an investigation into why referee Janny Sikazwe called for full-time twice before the 90-minute mark in the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tie between Tunisia and Mali.
Sikazwe’s refereeing of that first round game on Wednesday was “inexplicable” according to Tunisia’s head coach Mondher Kebaier and no one, who followed the timeline of the match, would have thought otherwise.
As THEWILL reported, when the Zambian official blew for full-time in the 85th minute, Mali was leading the Group F encounter 1-0 thanks to an Ibrahima Kone penalty but there was a whole five minutes of regulation time left to play.
Sikazwe realised his mistake and the game continued for another four minutes, during which Mali striker El Bilal Toure was sent off, before the referee blew the whistle again with 13 seconds remaining in the 90-minute regulation time.
Despite several stoppages in the second half, including two lengthy VAR checks for Kone’s penalty and one that Tunisia’s Wahbi Khazri missed, the referee neither allowed the time complete nor allowed for required extra time.
Tunisian authorities stormed the pitch to protest and afterwards refused to bring their squad back to the field when the match officials decided that the final minutes of the game should to be played. It was 40 minutes after the final whistle fiasco and Tunisia claimed their team was already having ice baths.
On Thursday, CAF announced that it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the comical and contentious incidents that drew worldwide attention even though Sikazwe was reportedly rushed to the hospital after the game because of heatstroke and dehydration, which presumably led him to lose focus.
A CAF statement to that effect read: “In relation to the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations match between Tunisia and Mali played in Limbe on 12 January 2022, CAF is gathering all the necessary reports from the officials at the match,” a CAF statement read.
“CAF is forwarding these documents to the competent bodies of CAF. At this stage, CAF is not in a position to make further comment until the responsible bodies indicate the way forward.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
