The final whistle of the Mali-Tunisia match (1-0), played in Limbe in southwestern Cameroon, sounded before the 90th minute, this Wednesday, January 12. Center referee Janny Sikazwe gave the first final whistle with a five-minute lead. Then the second, which definitively stopped the game, was given while there was still about fifteen seconds in regulation time. The incident angered the Tunisian staff.
The match should have resumed, following this error, but the Tunisians refused to return to the lawn of the Centenary Stadium in Limbe.
The referee, who nevertheless looked at his watch carefully, then headed towards the edge of the field, under the stunned gaze of spectators.
After a few seconds of bewilderment, the game director reconsidered his mistake and restarted the match. This first blunder wasted nearly a minute.
Then at 89:43 precisely, the referee whistled the end of the match a second time.
After the second whistle, room for anger on the side of the Tunisian staff. Coach Mondher Kebaier went straight to the referee, but the latter stuck to his position.
Faced with the tension on the ground, CAN officials supervised the members of the refereeing body to escort them safely to the locker room tunnel.
