Big arbitration scandal during Mali-Tunisia
In CAN group F, the final whistle of the Malians and Tunisians meeting was given before the end of the 90 minutes, angering the Carthage Eagles, beaten 1-0.
The Mali-Tunisia match (1-0) of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) was chaotic, with a premature final whistle which angered the Tunisians on Wednesday and a return of the Malians on the ground where their opponents never returned. Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe had already stopped the match for the first time in the 85th minute, apparently an error which had made the Tunisian bench mad with rage.
The Malians won 1-0 at the end of a game that will generate a lot of ink.
AFP
After having visibly transformed this too early whistle into a cool break, the referee resumed the match. But he stopped it for good a few seconds from the end of the 90th minute, even before the start of a hypothetical additional time. This time, the entire Tunisian delegation became furious, coach Mondher Kebaier frantically waving his watch under the noses of officials. The referee quartet had to leave under security escort in the face of the anger of the Carthage Eagles.
Tunisia remains in the locker room
About half an hour later, the game looked set to resume. 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, which could augur complaints.
Janny Sikazwe referees his fifth CAN, he also participated in the 2018 World Cup and refereed the African club cup finals.
“Suspicion of corruption” in 2019
This is not the first time that he 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.
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