Interviewed by the French magazine L’Équipe on Tuesday, Janny Sikazwe, the very controversial referee who had interrupted twice the AFCON match between Mali and Tunisia (1-0) on January 12, has finally explained himself.
Janny Sikazwe said that he had been a victim of a severe heat stroke which could have been fatal. “I was lucky I didn’t go into a coma. It would have been a very different story”, he said .
According to the Zambian, when he was sent to the hospital by CAF the next day to undergo a battery of tests, the doctors indicated to him that the incident could have had dramatic consequences.
“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 “, he added
The Mali-Tunisia match had an unbelievable end, with a premature final whistle which angered the Tunisians. Malians later returned to the field, but their opponents didn’t accept the offer.
The weather conditions in Cameroon, which saw some matches played in temperatures above 30C and high humidity, caused problems at the tournament. Algeria cited them as a factor in their draw (0-0) against Sierra Leone on their first game.
Source: AfrikPage with L’équipe