The coach of the Malian national football team, Eric Chelle says that the Egyptian Referee helped Ivory Coast to cross into the Semis.
The Eagles of Mali were some minutes away from booking a Semi-final spot before host Ivory Coast kept up their incredible escape act at the Africa Cup of Nations as they came from behind to beat Mali 2-1 in Saturday’s quarter-final, scoring a last-gasp goal in extra time to book a semi-final with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mali had taken a 71st-minute lead through Nene Dorgeles but the home team, roared on by the crowd at the Stade de la Paix, fought back and equalized through Simon Adingra in the 90th minute to force extra time.
Diakite then scored the winner before being sent off for a second booking by taking his shirt off in celebration. Mali’s Hamari Traore was also shown a red card at the final whistle
Eric Chelle reacting to his side’s elimination from the AFCON said “It’s hard to take. At times we played a great match and then everything fell apart in the last minute. The Referee also helped us lose the game. I’m very disappointed for the players because this generation has a lot of quality.”
