Mali defeated title hopefuls Tunisia 1-0 in an Africa Cup of Nations match that saw referee Janny Sikazwe in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
Ibrahima Kone’s spot-kick shortly after half-time proved to be the difference for Mali in the Group F game in Limbe, but Tunisia could have earned a draw only for Wahbi Khazri to have his penalty saved at the other end.
Mali’s Substitute El Bilal Toure was sent off late on, but the major talking point was referee Sikazwe prematurely signalling for full-time.
First, the Zambian blew with 85 minutes on the clock but he was instructed to continue after making a clear mistake.
However, with 11 seconds still to go before the mandatory 90 minutes, he again ended the game early.
After lengthy discussions between officials from both nations, it looked as though the teams would come back out onto the pitch to play three minutes of injury-time.
But the Tunisia players failed to reappear and the result stands, although there will surely be an investigation into the incident.
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