Controversy ensued in the late minutes of the clash between Tunisia and Mali as the officiating Zambian referee ends the match at the 85th minute, before ending the match finally at the 89th minute, an event which left fans agaze as Mali edge past Tunisia courtesy of Ibrahima Kone.
The AFCON Competition continued with its dramatic display at the Stade Limbe in the early noon as what is considered by many fans of football as “a show of the tournament” with Jenny Sikazwe ended his officiating at the 85th minute.
The crazy decision in the remaining five minutes of the game saw how the Tunisian teams left the pitch for their dressing room, with the Malian team not going with what was going on before they were later called back to the pitch, a call which the Tunisian teams failed to go by.
Zambian official Sikazwe initially blew his whistle to indicate the end of the match in the 85h minute, before play resumed after the error only for Sikazwe to again blow before the 90th minute.
The game finished after the second mistake, with around 17 seconds of normal time still on the clock, sparking outrage from Tunisia’s players and coaching staff, who were attempting to overturn a 1-0 deficit.
Reactions from both coaches show their discontent with the match officiating. Tunisia manager on his verdict “At the 85th minutes, the match officiator blows the final whistle. Again at the 89th minute.”
He was furious at the referee for not giving an additional extra time despite wasting the late minutes on reviewing of indecision.
Mali Coach also showed his dissatisfaction with the officials, he said ” I told the players that we can only control what is on the pitch. Off the pitch, that’s up to the administrators.”
With the look of things amid the controversy of Sikazwe which had previously ensued in the wrong match officiating which led to his suspension by CAF, what will be the reaction this moment?.
