Tunisia had lodged an official protest over Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe's actions in the Group F encounter at the tournament in Cameroon.

Sikazwe appeared to blow the full-time whistle at the 85th-minute mark before noticing his mistake and continuing the match.

He also ended the game in the 90th minute, moments before any chance of added time - which had been expected due to two penalties being awarded, a red card, a cooling break and consultations with the video assistant referee technology.

Tunisian coach Mondher Kebaier and his technical staff reacted angrily, confronting Sikazwe on the pitch after the second whistle, with the officials being escorted off by stadium security.

Around 30 minutes later, officials attempted to resume the match but only Mali's players returned as Tunisia's refused to do so.

Tournament organisers dismissed the protest from Tunisia and the CAF said in a statement that it had decided to "homologate the match result as 1-0 in favour of Mali".

Sikazwe officiated the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations final, two matches at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup final.

In November 2018, he was provisionally suspended by the CAF Disciplinary Board on suspicion of corruption for his handling of a CAF Champions League match.