BEVERLY HILLS, March 31, (THEWILL) – In one of the more unconventional occurrences at the recently concluded stages of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers played in cities across the continent on Tuesday, the referee in charge of the match between Ivory Coast and Ethiopia collapsed during the game and had to be stretchered off the field. This forced the tie to end 10 minutes short of regulation time.
The Ghanaian referee, Charles Bulu, seemingly became disorientated at about the 81st minute of the Group K game at the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan and was noticeably making an effort to remain on his feet.
His staggering gait caused concern to Ivorian players who steadied him by his arms for a short while as others quickly got the attention of medics. As the referee was being helped to the sidelines in company of the medical team and surrounded by players supporting him, he slumped to the grass flat on his back.
The medical team reacted quickly to bring his condition under control for some minutes before taking him off on the stretcher for more treatment. Fortunately, Bulu was conscious when he was carried off and initial reports say he suffered a fainting spell and nothing too grave.
Back on the pitch, the qualifier, which stood at 3-1 in favour of Ivory Coast by the time of the incident, had to be stopped because the fourth official at the game was unable to take charge as the centre referee.
An almost 10-minute delay ensued as discussions on the field between officials about how to proceed led to the decision to allow Kenyan assistant referee Gilbert Cheruiyot take over as referee but only just to blow the game over.
As the fixture did not go the entire 90 minutes of regulation time, the outcome remains obscure, whether the result will be accepted by the continental football governing body, the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Later, an official statement from the Ethiopian Football Federation said that the game had been cancelled pending a decision by CAF.
What that decision turns out to be will be more of a formality than of any true consequence because both countries had already secured qualification from Group K before kickoff and were playing to fulfil the scheduling of the group stages. The hosts were group leaders with 10 points from five games coming into the match while Ethiopia went through when Madagascar drew 0-0 with Niger earlier on Tuesday in the other game of the group.
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.
