AFCON referees deliver crushing blow

The five minutes of madness in the group stage match between Mali and Tunisia unwittingly set the tone for below par match officiating at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations finals.

Janny Sikwaze’s moment of infamy became the springboard for many other shambolic refereeing performances that have emerged as willing bridesmaid accompanying insipid football displays. In fact, the officiating has been the contender for man-of-the-tournament, usurping the actual football action. Sikwaze got the ball rolling with a hat trick of mistakes in a frenzied five minutes, which left the Zambia official’s reputation hanging threadbare. It remains to be seen how he will recover from the undiluted moment of chaos, where he first, prematurely ended the game in the 85th minute and then after the restart, he again blew the whistle in the 89th.