He was one of the key players on Wednesday on the grounds of CAN 2022 which takes place in Cameroon. Janny Sikazwe, the Zambian referee of the Group F meeting between Mali and Tunisia, has become in a few hours a star of social networks and the number 1 public enemy in Tunisia where football is more than a sport. The person concerned has indeed – brutally – precipitated the game into chaos, whistling the end of the match before the end of regulation time. Twice.
He first whistled the end around the 85th minute before realizing his mistake and asking both caps to resume play. About half an hour later, the game looked like it had to be resumed with another referee. The Malians returned to the field to play the final seconds of regulation time and a possible additional time. But the Tunisians remained in the locker room and the match could not resume. A crazy and unique scenario that angered the Tunisians, beaten (0-1) for their entry into the competition.
“He practically deprives us of seven or eight minutes of additional time, his decision is inexplicable, denounced Mondher Kebaier, the coach in a press conference after the meeting. He whistles the end of the match, he asks us to go to the locker room, the players do an ice bath for 35 minutes and then he comes and asks us to come back to the field? I have been in this field for almost 30 years and I have never seen a situation like this. I can’t understand how he made this decision. We will see the decisions that will follow afterwards. “
One reason could explain this unreal behavior on the part of the 42-year-old referee, who is participating in his 6th CAN. According to a Twitter message from journalist Tarek Talaat, Sikazwea suffered heatstroke during the game. He would have received the information from Essam Abdel-Fatah, boss of the referees of this competition. A defense that may seem valid since the thermometers of the Omnisport Stadium in Limbé displayed nearly 35 degrees… The humidity in the air was 65%… To support this theory a little more, Sikazwea would have been taken to the hospital after the meeting to undergo examinations. The officials had also decided to resume the match with the 4th referee …
However, this is not the first time that the person concerned has been at the center of a controversy. During CAN 2019, Senegal coach Aliou Cissé denounced his “catastrophic” arbitration during the defeat in the group stage against Algeria. He reproached him in particular for an unblocked penalty. He was suspended after an African Champions League match where he officiated, for “suspicion of corruption”, according to the press release from CAF at the time. But due to lack of evidence, this suspension was lifted.