A 1-1 draw between Tunisia and Libya at under-20 level, played in Egypt as part of the 2027 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations qualifiers, has sparked debate far beyond African borders. The final moments produced a rare refereeing incident that enraged the Libya players, even though the referee got the decision right under the laws of the game.
Reaction spread well beyond the stadium. Several of the world’s leading sports newspapers covered the controversial moment, among them France’s “L’Équipe”, Portugal’s “Record” and England’s “The Sun”, alongside Spain’s “Marca” and “Sport”, turning the fixture into one of the most talked-about matches of the youth qualifiers.
It all came to a head in stoppage time. Tunisia goalkeeper Salim Bouaskar advanced into the Libya penalty area for a corner, hunting the goal that would give the Eagles of Carthage victory and keep alive their hopes of chasing a qualification ticket.
The corner backfired. Libya won the ball and broke quickly, and for a moment it looked a perfect chance, four players against a single Tunisian.
As the Libya players surged towards the Tunisia goal convinced the way was open, the assistant referee raised his flag for offside. The attack died there, with the Libya players and coaching staff furious, several of them protesting the decision.
At first glance the call looked bizarre. Bouaskar was still inside the Libya box, so the scene appeared to show more than one Tunisian behind the Libyan forward. Read against the offside law, though, the reason for the flag becomes clear.
The Libyan forward had crossed the halfway line by about a metre when the ball was played to him, and the only Tunisia player ahead of him was Bouaskar, already up in the opposition box for the corner. That put the forward offside.
Under the laws of the game, a player is in an offside position if any part of his head, body or legs is in the opponent’s half of the pitch, excluding the halfway line, and nearer to the opponent’s goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent, subject to the conditions of interfering with play.
Had another Tunisian stood behind the Libyan forward, the attack would have been legal. The offside could also have been avoided if the ball had been played before the forward crossed the halfway line.
The decision was correct in law, yet the oddity of the scene and the timing sent it viral. Libya had a genuine chance to snatch all three points, only for an offside that struck many as strange given the Tunisian keeper’s run into the other box.
Dherar Brik put Tunisia ahead in the 24th minute. Moussa Ibrahim levelled for Libya in the 64th, and the match finished 1-1.
The draw ended Tunisia’s hopes of competing for a qualification ticket. Libya, meanwhile, wasted a precious chance to win and strengthen their position before their final match against Morocco on Tuesday.