BBC Sport
Mali and Tunisia’s Africa Cup of Nations game finished in chaos after the referee first signalled for full-time on 85 minutes, then ended the match when the clock showed 89 minutes and 47 seconds. Tunisia coach Mondher Kebaier and his technical staff raced on to the field to confront referee Janny Sikazwe after his final whistle consigned them to a 1-0 defeat in Group F. Twenty minutes later, tournament organisers ordered the game to be played to a conclusion — however, Tunisia’s players did not return to the field and Mali were declared winners.
Kebaier called the referee’s actions “inexplicable,” adding: “He blew for full time and asked us to go to the dressing room, so the players were in their ice baths and then he asked us to come back out. In 30 years in this business, I have never seen anything like it.”
On the field, Ibrahima Kone’s 48th-minute penalty proved to be the winner. Mali goalkeeper Ibrahim Mounkoro saved a 77th-minute spot-kick from Wahbi Khazri to preserve the lead. Mali substitute El Bilal Toure was shown a straight red card late on for catching the ankle of Tunisia defender Dylan Bronn. Despite the chaos, Mali were awarded the Group F victory. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will have questions to answer following the farcical ending and Tunisian protests.