The Rwandan national team, Amavubi lost 1-0 to Guinea’s Sylli Nationale last night in CHAN 2020 Quarterfinal, in a two Red Card and VAR drama match.
Amavubi played more than 40 minutes against the 10 man Guinea after Mory Kante was sent off early in the game in the 11th minute following his challenge against Rwandan skipper Jacques Tuyisenge, who could not even continue the game.
7 minutes after the break, Rwanda’s Goal Keeper, Olivier Kwizera got sent off for fouling Guinea’s Yakouba Barry outside the box. Initially, he was given a yellow card but with Video Assistance Referee VAR, the Moroccan International referee, Samir Guazzaz, changed his mind and canceled the yellow and instead gave a straight Red Card to Mr. Kwizera. The decision coach Mashami did not agree with. The free-kick awarded against Amavubi in this situation led Rwanda to concede a goal. Morlaye Sylla scored for Sylli Nationale.
Following Olivier Kwizera’s dismissal, Coach Mashami said he was weakened by minor injuries and a red card on his Goalkeeper. “Of course we couldn’t achieve our goals, we cannot say we are happy, we are sad because we wanted to get to the next level and everything was possible,” he said.
“The red card they got also affected us because we lost a player, a key player for us, and shortly we lose Rachid Kalisa which made us make quick changes. When you make quick changes it changes all your plans. We didn’t use an advantage to play against an incomplete team. Of course, I can’t ignore the fact that it was a great team, however, we deserved more than what they got,” the coach added.
“At the foul, we got on the red card, if you look at the video, you can see that Olivier didn’t commit a foul to that player. But the player was very skilled, he played on the minds of the referees, he was smarter, they got a free-kick, and score it. You have to accept it, we have to accept it, we are not going to sue, and we are not going to sue VAR,” the coach continued.
Rwanda has participated 4 times in this competition designed exclusively for home-based players. Only in 2016 in Rwanda and 2021 in Cameroon, Rwanda has managed to reach the Quarterfinal stage twice in 2016 and 2021.
