An Unthinkable Second Half of Football – Zambian Referee at the Centre of Controversy

Day 4 of the AFCON and we’ve probably seen the most ridiculous incident to date. During a well fought game, between Tunisia and Mali, the pitch referee, Janny Sikazwe of Zambia, blew the final whistle in the 85th minute of the contest, resulting in some bizarre situations.

Sikazwe then exacerbated his error by adding just four minutes and 40 seconds before blowing the final whistle, prompting an angry outburst from Tunisia's bench, led by manager Mondher Kebaier. To make matters worse, the game was tight, with Mali only leading by one goal, and we all know how quickly a game can change.

 Following these peculiar events, Mali replacement El Bilal Toure was shown a red card in the 87th minute. VAR authorities advised him to reconsider his judgement since it was too harsh for the offence committed, but Sikazwe did not agree. 

 The final whistle was blown after two long VAR assessments in the second half, the first of which awarded Tunisia a penalty, which Wahbi Khazri missed.

 The madness does not stop there. The CAF officials intervened and ordered the game to be restarted. The Tunisians, however, did not show up and after 5 minutes Mali were declared the victors. This means Mali are joint top of Group F with Gambia. 

 Although this may have seemed entertaining, it begs the question if the standard of refereeing during AFCON is up to scratch? This year has been notably worse.