Afcon 2022: referee makes ‘inexplicable’ call to end Mali vs Tunisia match after 89 minutes
- Tunisia coach claims his players were in their ice baths when ref Janny Sikazwe asked them to return to the pitch
- ‘In 30 years in this business I have never seen anything like it,’ Mondher Kebaier says as gaff marrs Africa Cup of Nations tie
Tunisia coach Mondher Kebaier said he had “never seen anything like it” after the referee in his side’s Africa Cup of Nations opener against Mali on Wednesday blew the final whistle before the game had been completed.
Zambian official Janny Sikazwe signalled the end of the match and a 1-0 win for 10-man Mali in the coastal town of Limbe with the clock showing 89 minutes and 47 seconds.
The Tunisians furiously protested that there were several minutes of stoppage time still to play.
With confusion reigning, Mali coach Mohamed Magassouba was giving his post-match victory press conference when an official entered the room under the stand to indicate that the game would restart and that three minutes still remained.
Mali returned to the field but the Tunisians did not re-emerge, and so the referee brought the game to a definitive conclusion when the Malians kicked off again.
“It is a difficult situation to deal with. The referee also blew with five minutes left in the first half and then he blew after 89 minutes, denying us practically seven or eight minutes of added time,” Kebaier, whose team had an extra man at the end after Mali’s El Bilal Toure was sent off, said.