Mali beat Tunisia as referee ends game prematurely twice. Janny Sikazwe, who officiated at the 2018 World Cup, blew for the final whistle on minute 85 and then on 89.
Mali have beaten Tunisia in a controversial Group F game at the Africa Cup of Nations that was ended prematurely twice by referee Janny Sikazwe, who later tried to play the final four minutes only for Tunisia to refuse.
Zambian Janny Sikazwe, who officiated at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, initially blew for the final whistle at 85 minutes as he got his timekeeping all wrong.
But after playing on, he repeated the error when he blew for full time once more before the clock had ticked over to the 90-minute mark.
Tunisia were furious and officials stormed on to the pitch in protest, but the man-of-the-match trophy was handed out and the post-match news conferences in full swing before Confederation of African Football officials decided the remaining minutes should be played.
Mali came out onto the pitch again 40 minutes after the controversy began, but Tunisia refused to play on and Sikazwe ended the game for a third time.
According to AFCON referees’ chief Essam Abdel-Fatah, Sikazwe was suffering from heatstroke when he inexplicably blew for full-time twice before the 90 minutes were up. Abdel-Fatah claims Sikazwe was suffering from the effects of 34C heat in the coastal city of Limbe, Cameroon, causing him to lose track of time.
The match was also a tale of two penalties as Mali forward Ibrahima Kone converted his attempt after a handball, but Tunisia’s Wahbi Khazri could not follow suit as his effort was saved by goalkeeper Ibrahima Mounkoro 13 minutes from time.
After a dull first half, Mali made a bright start to the second and after only a minute were awarded a penalty when Boubacar Kiki Kouyate’s shot struck the hand of Elyas Skhiri as the Tunisia midfielder turned his back on the ball.
Kone stepped up to convert the penalty and give his side the lead.
Tunisia earned a penalty after 77 minutes as Moussa Djenepo handled the ball, and after consulting the video assistant referee, Sikazwe awarded the spot kick.
But Khazri’s fierce shot was beaten away by Mounkoro with an excellent save.
Mali finished the game with 10 players after a harsh red card for El Bilal Toure when he challenged for the ball with Dylan Bronn and was fractionally late.
The game ended with Mali victorious 1-0, and attempts to restart and finish the match were later scuppered because Tunisia were already undergoing recovery ice baths by the time tournament officials intervened.
Tunisia have launched an appeal against the result of the match and have asked for the game to be replayed.
Hollywoodbets currently has Cameroon at 5/1 to become the champions of Africa.
Other notable odds are:
Senegal 11/2
Nigeria 6/1
Morocco 6/1
Ivory Coast 7/1
Algeria 8/1
Egypt 25/2
Mali 14/1
Tunisia 25/1
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