Then he apologized and let go with a ball. The final whistle of the match in Limbe, Cameroon came after 89:45 minutes and thus 15 seconds too early.

This time the entire Tunisian delegation was furious, with coach Mondher Kebair waved his watch in front of the officers’ noses. The referee team had to leave the field under the protection of security guards to face the wrath of the “Eagles of Carthage”.

After about half an hour, the game seemed to be restarting as the press conference was in full swing. Malian returned to the field to play the final seconds of regular time and possible stoppage time, along with Bundesliga professionals Amadou Haidara from RB Leipzig and Diddy Samseko (TSG Hoffenheim). However, Alice of Cologne remained in the Tunisian cabin with Skerry, which may have signaled a protest.

Mali’s centre-forward Ibrahima Koen scored the only goal in less than 90 minutes with a penalty in the 48th minute. Tunisia captain Wahbi Khajri failed from the penalty spot (77th) in his team’s opening game.

“Never Seen in 30 Years”

“I’ve never seen anything like this in 30 years in this business,” said Tunisia coach Kebayar: “His decision is incomprehensible. We’ll see what happens now.” When the order came to return to the field, his players were “already in an ice bath”.

Sikzave has been nominated for the Africa Championship for the fifth time, he was also in the 2018 World Cup and led two preliminary round matches in Russia. This is not the first time he has been in controversy.

Sikzawe was once suspended after a game in the African Champions League on suspicion of corruption, as stated in the CAF announcement at the time. However, the suspension was lifted due to lack of evidence.

The second game of Group F between Mauritania and The Gambia (0:1) in Limbe did not go as planned: in three (!) attempts, the country’s old anthem, which was valid for four years, was played in each case. Mauritania players looked confused, some nodded.

(SID)