Reporter Han Bing reported on the referee of an intercontinental competition, who made a low-level mistake that is difficult for even amateur referees to appear: he actually blew the final whistle twice in the 90-minute regular time! Even more bizarre is the non-FA, which at one point ended the game and began the post-match press conference, requiring both teams to re-play for 3 minutes of stoppage time. The Africa Cup of Nations is a truly intercontinental competition that captivates fans, and there are always unimaginable "stories".
The farce caused by Zambian referee Jenny Skazevi has made everyone forget the course of the game, red cards, penalties and other elements, such amateur mistakes in continental competitions, it is really rare. It was the first group match between Tunisia and Mali, with Skazevi blowing the final whistle in the 85th minute, repeatedly reminding tunisian coaches and players to restart the game, but again at 89 minutes and 43 seconds, when the fourth official had not even shown the bulletin board of stoppage time. Angry Tunisian coaches, players and staff rushed inside with the referee theory, to no avail.
During the course of the game, Skazevi took a long VAR review of Mali's leading penalty and Tunisia's claimed penalty award, plus substitutions and other supplementary time that had to be added, and 3 minutes of stoppage time was not a reasonable time, it should be longer. But Skazevi couldn't even give the Tunisians, who were trying their best to equalise, for 3 minutes.
Do you think that's the end of it? Not really! Mali coach Magasuba was speaking at a press conference after the match, but was interrupted by the referee team because the organizing committee announced that the two teams would play again, playing three minutes of stoppage time. About 40 minutes later, Mali returned to the pitch, but Tunisia refused to finish the game. The Tunisian coach said the players had just taken a 35-minute ice bath and how could they continue to play. The referee then announced that Mali had won 1-0 against Tunisia, which was another inexplicable decision, because according to the rules, Tunisia's refusal to complete all matches was a waiver, and the rules should be 0-3.
Tunisian boss Kobayer was furious, stressing that there should be at least seven or eight minutes of stoppage time, saying he had never seen anything so outrageous in his football career. And that's not counting the game, the referee rejected the VAR referee's recommendation, and after watching the VAR, insisted on sending off the Malian player E. Toure, who came off the bench. The Tunisian Football Federation has appealed to the Non-FA for a replay because such refereeing mistakes are clearly unfair. After the scandal, many African fans expressed their dissatisfaction on social networks, and Skazevi is not an amateur referee, but an African referee representative who has enforced the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Some people think that his mistake stemmed from the fact that he did not pause his watch during the 5 minutes of the replenishment time, while others believe that he blew the final whistle in the 85th minute and allowed the game to continue for 4 minutes and 43 seconds, which is mistaken for the stoppage time. But this does not explain why the fourth official did not remind the referee of the specific time of the stoppage time in time. French media RMC later reported that Skazevi suffered from heat stroke during the match, which could have prevented him from concentrating, and he was also taken to hospital after the game. But in any case, such an absurd mistake will of course make fans have a strong interest in this referee. In fact, as early as 4 years ago, the referee was suspended by the Non-FA Disciplinary Committee on corruption charges for allegedly manipulating the game in the African Champions League.
This is not the first scandal of this year's Africa Cup of Nations, on Sunday night, three Algerian journalists were robbed with knives near the Douala Hotel, where they were staying; before the Mauritania-Gambia match, the organizing committee played the national anthem of Mauritania three times in a row, and simply canceled the national anthem after the last mistake.
Of course, amateur mistakes by referees in continental competitions are rare and not without precedent. In the 2006 World Cup Croatia vs. Australia, England referee Bohr showed Simunic 3 yellow cards before remembering that he should be sent off, which became a psychological shadow that still lingers in the English refereeing community. In 2005, Japanese referee Shoumitsu Yoshida awarded the leading Uzbekistan team a penalty for entering the penalty area early because a player entered the box early, and the penalty shot was invalid, and then cancelled Uzbekistan's penalty and awarded Bahrain a free kick opportunity. After the match, FIFA chose a rematch after protest from the Uzbekistan Football Association.
Zambian referee Skazevi's performance throughout the game is undoubtedly the "pinnacle" of amateur errors in intercontinental matches.