History Made as All Female Refereeing Team Takes Charge of Key 2021 AFCON Clash

• History will be made today at the 2021 African Cup of Nations in a crucial encounter between Zimbabwe and Guinea
• Rwandan referee Salima Mukansanga will lead the first ever group of all-female match officials for an AFCON match
• Mukansanga had already made history at the tournament, becoming the first woman to officiate an AFCON match in her capacity as a fourth official in a Guinea-Malawi contest

History will unfold before our eyes in a crucial Group B clash between Zimbabwe and Guinea at the 2021 African Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Rwandan referee Salima Mukansanga take charge of the match, assisted by Cameroon's Carine Atemzabong, Morocco's Fatiha Jermoumi and Bouchra Karboubi, with the latter on VAR duty. It's the first time in history that only women will officiate a match at Africa's showpiece event.

As reported on ESPN Africa, Mukansanga was the fourth official in Guinea's 1-0 win over Malawi. She made history in this regard as the first woman to officiate an AFCON match as per The Star.

Delight as 2 Kenyan referees officiate Comoros vs Gabon AFCON clash

Football

CAF head of referees Eddy Maillet said:

"She [Mukansanga] has had to overcome serious obstacles to reach this level and she deserves a lot of credit. This moment is not just for Salima but for every young girl in Africa who has passion for football and who sees herself as a referee in the future."

Guinea will seal automatic qualification with either a win of a draw, while Zimbabwe, almost certainly eliminated, can only get to the last 16 with a big win and for other results to go its way.

Video of referee asking Partey to go bring out Ghana teammate for red card mars draw against Gabon

Ghana's second group C game against Gabon ended in ugly scenes after striker Benjamin Tetteh was red carded for starting what will end up in a brawl between the two sides.

As reported on Sports Brief, Benjamin Tetteh, right at the blow of the final whistle rushed onto a Gabon player to punch him, leading to scuffles, with security having to come protect the officials.

Referee Lahlou Benbraham had to order Arsenal star Thomas Partey to go bring out Tetteh, who had fled the scene after instigating the fight.