CAF Issues Official Statement Regarding Tunisia vs. Mali Match Events

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) issued an official statement on Thursday regarding the controversial events that took place during the match between Tunisia and Mali on Wednesday at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations currently being held in Cameroon. The match ended with a 1-0 victory for Mali in the first round of Group Six matches in the African tournament, and the referee's decisions sparked widespread controversy. Tunisia protested against the controversial decisions made by Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe, who blew the final whistle seconds before the end of regular time without adding any stoppage time. Prior to this, the referee had announced the end of the match at the 86th minute before retracting his decision upon realizing the error. CAF released an official statement today via its website, stating: Regarding the Africa Cup of Nations match between Tunisia and Mali, held in Limbe on January 12, 2022, the Confederation of African Football is gathering all necessary reports from the match officials. Furthermore, CAF is sending these documents to the relevant bodies, and at this stage, CAF is not in a position to make further comments until the responsible bodies indicate the next steps.