Tunisia had lodged an appeal against the 1-0 result after
the game ended prematurely. The North Africans were pushing for an equalizer
against the West Africans who had a man sent off as the game wound down.
The game’s center referee, Janny Sikazwe, has been a major
talking point since that game for controversial decisions, including ending the
game twice before the official 90-minute normal time lapsed.
Sikazwe initially blew his whistle to indicate the end of
the match in the 85th minute, before he allowed play to resume. He again blew
his whistle to end the game before the 90th minute, sparking protests from
Tunisian players and technical bench.
The game ended with around 17 seconds of normal time still
to play, and with the fourth official seemingly ready to hoist his board to
indicate extra time. Tunisia were pushing to level the score as Mali had gone
ahead courtesy of Ibrahima Kone.
In the second half alone, two penalties were awarded, eight
substitutions were made and the game was twice paused briefly as the referee
went to the pitch side monitor to review decisions.
With players already in their dressing rooms, reports
indicate that match officials called them out to finish the game but Tunisian
players declined.
In a statement, CAF said its Organizing Committee had
examined Tunisia’s protest but dismissed it and homologated the match result as
1-0 in favor of Mali.
The statement did not however mention anything about the
referee.
Tunisia are scheduled to play their next match on Sunday,
January 16 against Mauritania, while Mali are set to play The Gambia on the
same day.
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