REVEALED: AFCON ref Janny Sikazwe was suffering from ‘heat stroke and severe dehydration’ and was taken to hospital after he TWICE blew for full-time early during chaotic Tunisia vs Mali clash
The Africa Cup of Nations descended into chaos on Tuesday after farcical scenes involving the referee in Mali’s controversial 1-0 win over Tunisia.
Official Janny Sikazwe blew the final whistle after just 85 minutes before restarting play, but then blew again with just 89 minutes and 43 seconds of the Group F clash gone.
His mistake drew a furious reaction from Tunisia’s bench, with boss Mondher Kebaier furiously grabbing the arm of the Zambian referee and pointing to his watch in the immediate aftermath of the full-time whistle.
‘The referee suffered from heat stroke and very severe dehydration, which led to him losing focus and was taken to the hospital,’ Abdel-Fatah told MBC Egypt’s Al-Laib.
‘It caused him to lose time in the 80th minute, and he ended the match in the 85th minute. He returned after directions from the assistant staff and then returned to finish the match in the 89th minute.
“When the crisis occurred and the objections and control were lost in the match, the fourth referee was the one who was going to complete the match [instead of Sikazwe], but one of the two teams refused.’
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