The referee who blew for full-time early in an Africa Cup of Nations match claims he could have died of heatstroke.Zambian Janny Sikazwe ended the Mali – Tunisia tie two times before the 90 minutes were up.”I have seen people going for duties outside the country and come back in a casket,” he said.”I was very close to coming back like that.”I was lucky I didn’t go into a coma. It would have been a very different story.”The doctors told me my body was not cooling down. It would have been just a little time before [I would have gone] into a coma, and that would have been the end.”I think God told me to end the match. He saved me.”AFCON day four: You have to give your all over 90 minutes… or for as long as Janny Sikazwe allowsThe Group F match in Limbe on Wednesday, 12 January concluded in controversy as coaching staff from Tunisia, who were trailing 1-0 and playing against ten men, ran onto the pitch to confront Sikazwe and his assistants about the early finish.However, Sikazwe didn’t change his mind and needed security staff to escort him off the pitch.CERRO LARGO – LIVERPOOL M. Speaking to Zambian media on his arrival back in the country, Sikazwe said the impact of the weather in Limbe was the reason for his erratic performance in the second half.”The weather was so hot, and the humidity was about 85%,” he said.”After the warm-up, I felt the [conditions] were something else. We were trying to drink water, but you could not feel the water quenching you – anything.”But we [match officials] believe we are soldiers, and we go and fight.”Everything I was putting on was hot. Even the communication equipment, I wanted to throw it away. It was so hot.”##EDITORS_CHOICE##Sikazwe said he was not able to communicate with the rest of his officiating team.”I started getting confused. I could not hear anybody,” he said.”I reached the point where I could start hearing some noise, and I thought someone was communicating with me and people were telling me ‘no you ended the match’. It was a very strange situation.”I was going through my head to find who told me to end the match. Maybe I was talking to myself, I don’t know. That is how bad the situation was.”The day after the Tunisia-Mali game, Sikazwe went to the hospital for heart, blood and physical tests – but all his results came back normal.
