Cape Verde was punished twice with red cards and fell 2-0 to Senegal to end their Africa Cup of Nations run
The star of the knockout rounds of the Africa Cup of Nations continued to be the referees in Cape Verde’s knockout round match with Senegal Tuesday and after getting two players sent off the Blue Sharks saw their cup run end in a 2-0 defeat.
Philadelphia Union midfielder Jamiro Monteiro started for the fourth straight game and played the full 90 minutes of a match marred by controversy.
The match referee twice went to the video monitor to show red, first to Patrick Andrade in the 21st minute for a hard tackle and again in the 57th after goalkeeper Vozinha collided with Sadio Mané. Vozinha was taken to the hospital after the match for tests.
Mané, the Liverpool star, put Senegal in the lead six minutes after the Blue Sharks went down to nine men and Senegal tacked on a second two minutes into stoppage time from Bamba Dieng.
Monteiro finishes his time in Cameroon having logged 344 minutes, 2 shots, 10 tackles, 3 interceptions, 2 key passes, 2 crosses and 102 completed passes (79%) in the four matches. The Blue Sharks won 1, lost two and tied in their four matches in what was the country’s third appearance in the tournament and first since 2015.
Red cards have been a storyline so far in the knockout rounds. Through the first five knockout games, referees showed seven red cards. A total of six red cards were shown in all of the group matches combined.
Cameroon benefited from a red card in their 2-1 win over Comoros on Monday. Union right back Olivier Mbaizo did not dress in the match. Mbaizo has now played just once — a three-minute cameo in the 1-1 draw with Cape Verde — and has made the game day roster twice in Cameroon’s four matches.
The tournament hosts play Gambia Saturday in the quarterfinals at 11 a.m. in Douala.