Embarrassing situations continued at the Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday, with the wrong national anthem being played for the Mauritanian team three times before their opening match against Gambia in Limbé. The Mauritanian players appeared confused, with some nodding their heads, after two failed attempts to play the national anthem. The stadium announcer stated that the Mauritanian players would sing the anthem themselves, but a third unsuccessful attempt was quickly cut off after playing the old anthem of the country again.
This incident occurred just two hours after the chaotic match between Tunisia and Mali, where Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe ended the match before the full time, while Mali was leading 1-0. Mali won against Tunisia following a game marred by refereeing controversies. After the referee's whistle blew before the match concluded, the players of Mali returned to complete the remaining minutes of the match without the presence of the Tunisian players, who had gone to their dressing rooms in a strange and rare scene, amidst Tunisian protests against the referee's decisions.
