Referee Janny Sikazwe (left) didn’t have his best day. In the end, he even got Mali’s coach from the press conference
What: REUTERS
Curious scenes take place between Tunisia and Mali. The referee ends the game twice too early. Wild protests by Tunisians follow. The subsequent press conference sinks into chaos, because suddenly the game is supposed to continue.
LAccording to Sepp Herberger and rules, a soccer game lasts 90 minutes. At least. Referee Janny Sikazwe’s watch is apparently ahead of its time. The referee from Zambia managed to call off the game between Tunisia and Mali (0-1) at the Africa Cup in Cameroon twice too early.
After 85:06 minutes, Sikazwe had seen enough of the game in Limbe and the whistle was blown. However, the players convinced him that he had made a mistake. After 89:45 minutes, it was finally over. Sikawze was not impressed by the angry protests of the Tunisians who had passed away and left the square under the protection of security forces.
The second over-punctual final whistle raises doubts about the speed of the impartial clock, as Mali’s midfielder El Bilal Touré saw the red card in the 87th minute and the game was long interrupted due to video evidence.
The dismissal was just as controversial as the two hand penalties of the game. Mali’s Ibrahima Koné (48th minute) used the first to score the winning goal, while the Tunisian Wahbi Khazri (77th) missed the second.
Coach brought from press conference
Story told? Far from it. As Mali’s coach Mohamed Magassouba was at the press conference, officials informed him that the remaining minutes would still be played.
The Mali and Sikazwe players gathered again on the pitch, but the Tunisians simply did not come. After a short wait, Sikazwe finally whistled. And Magassouba went back to the press conference, exasperated.
The scenes in Limbe were reminiscent of the game between Werder Bremen and Hannover 96 in November 1975. At that time, referee Wolf-Dieter Ahlenfelder had the first half whistled after 32 minutes.
The referee, visibly drunk, let the game continue shortly afterwards, only to whistle at halftime 90 seconds before the end of regular time. Ahlenfelder later stated that he had a beer and a Maltese schnapps for lunch before the game.
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