Darious Kapembwa, Special Correspondent
Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe has been discovered to have low blood pressure which made him stop the Mali/Tunisia match before time, official sources at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations have revealed.
Sikazwe has been widely condemned for the manner he handled the match on Wednesday.
The situation was further compounded by the higher humidity levels in Limbe as the high tempo match was in progress, which could have affected his judgement.
Sikazwe twice ended the match prematurely with Tunisia losing 1-0, which infuriated the Tunisian team who refused to come back and play out the remainder of additional time and drew wide condemnation from soccer lovers across the globe.
A CAF source said Sikazwe underwent further ECG scans late afternoon on Thursday to ascertain his health status.
“He was discovered to have suffered low BP immediately after the match and underwent further tests today, he is still under medical attention,” the source said.
CAF had earlier on Thursday released a statement, saying relevant authorities were still collecting information before making conclusions.
“In relation to the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations match between Tunisia and Mali played in Limbe on 12 January 2022, CAF is gathering all the necessary reports from the officials at the match,’’ read the CAF statement in part.
“CAF is forwarding these documents to the competent bodies of CAF. At this stage, CAF is not in a position to make further comment until the responsible bodies indicate the way forward.’’
