AFCON 2021 : Refereeing Decisions On The Spotlight

The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations ongoing in Cameroon has recorded major successes but with some minor hitches that have gotten some tongues wagging especially at the level of refereeing. The first remarkable wrong came in during the Tunisia-Mali group game where central referee Janny Sikazwe prematurely whistled the end of the game. From a layman’s eye, the refereeing so far may have experienced some minor loopholes but some professionals think that the referees have been relatively upright.
Red, Yellow Cards Overflow
During the just-ended eighth finals, the number of yellow and red cards dished out has been making people talk. All five of the last-16 matches saw a red card. Across those five games, seven red cards have been shown.   The Burkina Faso-Gabon game recorded a total of 14 yellow cards and one red card. Again, in the Senegal-Cape Verde game, Vozinha and Mane collided in what appeared to be a 50-50 clash of heads but in a blink of an eye, the Blue Sharks found themselves down to nine men. 
“Abusive” use of VAR
Since the 2021 AFCON began, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has sufficiently been used to make key decisions. But some think that its usage has been “abusive”. The frequent VAR checks has often resulted to red cards and the award of penalties while others have not. The case of the Equatorial Guinea and Mali game is the most recent of them all. Mali was said to have been denied a penalty after the referee went to the VAR. The Malian football Federation in a letter protested this decis...