Ghanaian referee collapses while officiating AFCON qualifier between Ivory Coast and Ethiopia
Ghanaian referee Charles Bulu collapsed on Tuesday afternoon while officiating a match between Ivory Coast and Ethiopia.
Appointed to officiate the match as the centre referee, Ghana’s Charles Bulu handled the match perfectly until the unfortunate incident happened in the 80th minute.
The two sides locked horns today in the final Group K match of the qualifiers to the next Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament to be hosted by Cameroon.
The Ivorians were leading by 3-1 at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny when the players noticed the respected match official was struggling to stand on his feet.
They tried to help him stand until he fell on the field and was stretchered off for further examination to ensure he is okay.
The match ended abruptly after 10 minutes of hold-up. The fourth official who was expected to replace Charles Bulu is an Ivorian and presented a conflict of interest.
On the back of over 10 minutes of delay, the 1st assistant called the captains and suspended the game.
Both teams before the game had already secured qualification to Cameroon 2022.