AFCON Referee, Janny Sikazwe Could Have Died From Heatstroke

Zambian Janny Sikazwe ended Tunisia’s game against Mali 13 seconds before the 90th minute due to heatstroke and severe dehydration.

Speaking to Zambian media on his arrival back home, he said the doctors who assessed him after the match said he was left with a little time from the moment he ended the match before he could go into a coma.

“I was lucky I didn’t go into a coma, it would have been a very different story.

“The doctors told me that 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,” he said.

AFCON head of referees Essam Abdel-Fatah defended the performance of Sikazwe, who also officiated at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, saying he was suffering from the effects of the 34 degree heat level and 65 per cent humidity in Limbe.

Cameroon’s topical conditions, have caused issues at the tournament, with Algeria citing them as a factor in their opening 0-0 draw with Sierra Leone.

Sikazwe added that the situation got worse in the second half to a stage where he again started hearing strange voices.

“In a normal scenario it is allowed to tell the fourth official to continue a match in case you are unable to continue, but I could not do so because the communication device became too hot for me to the extend that I wanted to throw it away, leading to poor hearing.

“I do not know if I was talking to myself, but one thing I know is that Zambians are lucky to receive me like this today,” he added.

The day after the Tunisia-Mali game, Sikazwe went to the hospital for heart, blood and physical tests but all his results came back normal.