Africa Cup of Nations referee Janny Sikazwe claimed he blew the full-time whistle early in Mali’s controversial win over Tunisia because he was close to dying from heatstroke
The Zambian referee claimed on Wednesday he could have died of heatstroke if the match had gone on any longer.
Sikazwe sparked controversy when he ended the group stage fixture 13 seconds early on January 12, having also been forced to restart the game after blowing his full-time whistle five minutes before the full 90 was up.
Tunisia, who were trailing 1-0 and playing against 10 men when Sikazwe ended the match early for a second time, were left incensed at Cameroon’s Limbe Stadium, with members of their coaching staff storming onto the pitch to confront the referee.
However, Sikazwe believes his erroneous decision to blow for full-time early was actually a blessing from God.
“I have seen people going for duties outside the country and come back in a casket,” he told reporters after arriving back in Zambia. “I was very close to coming back like that.
“I was lucky I didn’t go into a coma.
“It would have been a very different story.
“The doctors told me my body was not cooling down.
“It would have been just a little time before (I would have gone) into a coma and that would have been the end.
“I think God told me to end the match.
“He saved me.”
When confronted by Tunisia players and staff, Sikazwe stuck by his decision and had to be escorted off the field by security.
AFCON organisers then ordered the match to be resumed, yet Tunisia did not return to the pitch and Mali were declared winners.
The beaten side filed a complaint to the Confederation of African Football, which was subsequently rejected.
Sikazwe insists the extreme climate, which has seen some matches at the tournament played in temperatures of over 30c, explains his unusual performance on the day.
“The weather was so hot, and the humidity was about 85 per cent,” he continued.
“After the warm-up I felt the [conditions] were something else.
“We were trying to drink water but you could not feel the water quenching you – nothing.
“But we [match officials] believe we are soldiers and we go and fight.
“Everything I was putting on was hot.
“Even the communication equipment, I wanted to throw it away.
“It was so hot.”
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