Tunisia Files Protest To CAF Against Poor Officiating In Their 1-0 Loss To Mali

The Tunisia national team have filed a protest to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) following poor officiating in their Group F opening game against Mali on Wednesday afternoon.

Janny Sikazwe was the centre referee in charge of the Tunisia vs Mali tie which went down at the Omnisport Stadium, Limbe.

Marlian forward Ibrahima Koné's only penalty goal three minutes into the second-half made the difference between both sides until the controversial moments began.

The 42-year-old Zambian referee, had first blew the full time whistle in the 85th of the game, after realizing his mistake he allowed play to continue, before sending off a Marlian player El Bilal Touré in the 87th minute for a minimum to no contact tackle.

But after a lengthy VAR check he then again blew the actual full-time whistle at 89:48 minutes with no stoppage time added. 

The second-half of the match alone, saw two penalties awarded to both Mali and Tunisia who failed to convert theirs, two lengthy VAR checks, 9 substitutions made, a water break, and a red card.

Tunisia, who were trailing 1-0 but with a man advantage, weren’t too happy about the referee's awkward decision to end the game with no additional time added, as coach Mondher Kebaier became furious with the refs decision storming onto the pitch with all other coaching staff to explain and plead with the Zambian referee who paid deaf ears.

In the heat of the moment, Janny Sikazwe who referred the FIFA 2018 World Cup in Russia along with his two officials, had to be escorted off the pitch by security guards. 

However, Mali's coach Mohamed Magassouba's post-match press conference was later interrupted, with CAF officials barging in and ordering both teams back to play the remaining three minutes of the match. 

Mali players showed up on the pitch waiting for the Tunisia players who failed to return back.

The referee then blew his whistle once again to end the match, meaning the 1-0 victory for Mali stands.

CAF are expected to reply to the bizzare situation within the next 24 hours.