Qatar 2022: Zambian Referee Janny Sikazwe Blasted for Handling of Belgium vs Canada Match

• When it comes to staying out of the headlines, particularly the wrong ones, Janny Sikazwe is not good at
• The controversial Zambian referee handled the 2022 FIFA World Cup match between Belgium and Canada
• He did not impress many observers, with the supporters of Canada and neutrals criticising him for his performance

Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe has gone from being CAF's headache to now being a problem for FIFA.

Sikazwe was in charge of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Group F match between Belgium and Canada the Red Devils won 1-0. He has come in for criticism with the whistle in his mouth.

The Daily Mail reported that Canadian fans were left fuming by the decisions Sikazwe made during the match, particularly ones involving penalty shouts.

Fox Sports pundit Stuart Holden said:

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"Missed call by the referee and the VAR not to go back. Canada should have a second penalty."

While his fellow pundit Alexi Lalas chipped in:

"That was ridiculous. It's amazing they are losing this game."

One Twitter account read:

"Canada robbed of another penalty by the referee. Linesman gave offside when Hazard passed the ball."

Another one added:

"Canada's next penalty not given… why did I expect anything more? "

Another said:

"This ref is so bad man, how's he allowed to ref after the AFCON thing?'

Fox's referee expert, former Premier League official Mark Clattenburg, said:

"Human error by the VAR and Canada should have had a second penalty,' he said at halftime."

Sikazwe earned himself eternal infamy after accidentally ending a match early between Mali and Tunisia at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year.

Meet Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga who became the first African woman referee at the men’s World Cup

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For the first time, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) named three females among 36 to officiate the men’s World Cup in Qatar.

Salima Mukasanga of Rwanda has just made history again as she becomes the first-ever African female referee at the Mundial. The other two ladies on such an assignment are Stephanie Frappart of France and Yamashita Yoshimi of Japan.

It’s a remarkable achievement for Mukusanga, who was the first African female referee at the Women’s World Cup 2019 edition and earlier this year. As a centre referee, she became the first woman to handle a match at the African Cup of Nations.