Controversy-laden Afcon meet a comedy of errors

Zambian international referee Janny Sikazwe, 42, has come under heavy criticism after he controversially ended a group stage match at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Cameroon, before regular play time at the Omnisport stadium in the coastal town of Limbe on Wednesday.

The referee first sounded his whistle indicating the end of the game between Mali and favourites Tunisia on the 85th minute, but action resumed after the error.

However, before players and fans could enjoy the last and crucial moments of the game, the Zambian official again blew his whistle about 13 seconds before the 90th minute (89 minutes 47 seconds) controversially putting an end to the first Group F clash where Mali were leading 1-0.

The act sparked fury among the coaching staff and players of goal-hungry Tunisia, who were struggling and hoping for a last-minute goal that could see them turn the deficit and even settle for a draw.

As Sikazwe, a 2015 Caf Referee of the Year nominee who was suspended from involvement in African football in 2018 on suspicion of corruption, was ending the game, footage showed the fourth referee gesticulating as if he was preparing to lift the board for stoppage time to be added.

About 20 minutes after the match had ended and officials escorted to the dressing room by security officers amidst anger and protests by players and coaching staff of Tunisia, The Eagles of Mali re-emerged on the green turf looking willing to play out, but the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia were nowhere to be seen.

“In relation to the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations match between Tunisia and Mali played in Limbe on January 12, 2022, CAF is gathering all the necessary reports from the officials at the match,” the continental football body said in a statement on Thursday.

“Caf is forwarding these documents to the competent bodies of the organisation. At this stage, CAF is not in a position to make further comment until the responsible bodies indicate the way forward,” it added.

The bizarre officiating of the Group F match by the Zambian is just one of the controversies that have greeted the 33rd edition of the tournament in Cameroon.

In a second Group F match between Mauritania and débutantes Gambia, the wrong anthem was played twice for Mauritania following what the stadium announcer said was a problem with the sound system.

After several minutes of unsuccessful trials to get the real anthem, the players were asked to sing without the music, but captain Aboubakar Kamara could be seen shaking his head in disagreement.

Instead, the team clapped mockingly, faking the joy that usually follows the singing of the anthem. Gambia’s national anthem was played without a hitch and they went on to win the game.

Before the first Group F match, two civilians were killed, allegedly by armed separatist fighters who were pushing for a boycott of the games in the conflict-plagued anglophone region of the country.

There have been security concerns around the tournament, especially in the Anglophone region where armed separatists pushing for the secession of minority English speakers from the majority French-speaking country had pledged to disrupt the competition.

The incident in the nearby town of Buea, where The Gambia and Mali teams are lodged, occurred just as they left for their Group F matches in Limbe,  an hour’s drive away. The Gambian and Malian national teams were given military escort as they arrived at their hotel in Buea from Douala where they landed at the weekend.

A local daily, The Guardian Post, reported that about 50 armed separatist fighters stormed the town and opened fire, prompting a retaliation from the military.

Gun battle

The paper identified those killed as a taxi driver and a passenger. It said six other people, including a lawyer, were wounded in the attack. Another newspaper, The Post, which is based in Buea, reported that the gun battle left four people dead.

The anglophone region of Cameroon has remained volatile since an industrial strike by lawyers and teachers morphed into an armed conflict, with rebels pushing for the secession of the minority English-speaking region from the majority French-speaking central African country.

More than 3,500 people have been killed and nearly a million displaced since 2017, according to humanitarian organisations. On Tuesday, a prominent opposition member of Parliament was killed in Bamenda.

Despite the exchange of gunfire between the rebels and the military, the two Group F games went on as planned, with Mali and Gambia recording victories. Earlier at the weekend in Douala, Cameroon’s economic hub, a group of Algerian journalists were mugged.

Caf, organisers of the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament said Cameroonian police were investigating the attack during which the victims lost personal items, including phones and money. Two of the three victims were hospitalised.

The new president of the Cameroon Football Federation, Samuel Eto’o Fils, condemned the act and apologised to the Algerian Football Federation, promising he was going to talk to Cameroonian authorities to beef up security around lodging and hosting sites of the tournament.

Caf said the safety of people attending the tournament is a priority for both the continental soccer body and the Cameroon Government. Despite the incident, Algerian journalists trailing the defending champions said they would continue  covering the competition. Algeria were held by Sierra Leone in the opening Group E game at the Japoma stadium in Douala on Tuesday.

While the defending champions played the match with their first choice goalkeeper, it was not the case for Côte d’Ivoire as their first-choice goalie was expelled for failing a drugs test.

The Elephants, ranked 56th in the world and 10th on the continent, opened their eighth Afcon appearance on Wednesday with a 1-0 victory against the Nzalang Nacional of Equatorial Guinea.

Coach Patrice Beaumelle’s men are seeking to improve on their performance in the previous edition where eventual champions, Algeria, knocked them out in the quarter-finals.

One of the ugly scenarios at the group stage of the 33rd edition of Afcon in Cameroon has been suspicion around Covid tests seemingly used as “a weapon against some teams” by having a majority of their players test positive hence ruled out of key matches.

It will be recalled that Burkina Faso threatened to boycott the opening game against hosts, Cameroon, over suspicion that Covid-19 tests were manipulated.

Five players of the Stallions of Burkina Faso and coach Kamou Malo tested positive in the run up to last Sunday’s tournament opener but authorities suspected that the results were part of a scheme to favour the hosts and threatened the team was not going to play the game.

Assistant coach, Firmin Sanou and captain Bertrand Traore had expressed frustrations over the Covid-19 test results in a pre-match press conference at the Olembe stadium in Yaounde, with Traore describing it as “scandalous”.

However, CAF rubbished a protest by the Burkinabé Football Federation, saying the PCR tests were conducted by an independent institution and the results were authentic and cannot be disputed. 

Many of the 24 participating teams at the tournament have reported Covid-19 cases, including Gabon that played their first match without star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.