Zambian top, but controversial referee Janny Sikazwe will be in charge of the World Cup Qatar 2022 Group F game between Belgium and Canada on Wednesday, FIFA has announced.

In an all-African line-up, Sikazwe will be assisted by Angola's Jerson Dos Santos as first assistant and Arsenio MARENGULA of Mozambique as second assistant referee with Japanese Arsenio MARENGULA serving as the fourth official.

On the VAR booth will be Juan Soto, assisted by Nicolas Gallo. Algerian Mokrane Gourari will man Offside VAR with Italian Massimiliano Irrati serving as Support VAR.

The fixture booked at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan will be the first one officiated by referees from Africa led by Sikazwe, who will be officiating at his second World Cup.

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43-year-old Sikazwe and controversy are synonymous. The Zambian official delivered one of the worst refereeing performances in living memory after he blew the final whistle after just 85 minutes, during the Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON match between Mali and Tunisia early this year, before restarting play, but then blew again with just 89 minutes and 43 seconds of the Group F clash gone.

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His mistake drew a furious reaction from Tunisia's bench, with boss Mondher Kebaier furiously grabbing the arm of the Zambian referee and pointing to his watch in the immediate aftermath of the full-time whistle.

Sikazwe was provisionally suspended by CAF in November 2018 following allegations of corruption during a CAF Champions League game between Esperance and Primiero Agosto, but the suspension was lifted in January 2019 when he was cleared in a disciplinary hearing.

A trained teacher, he made a breakthrough as a referee in 2008 when he replaced one who had taken ill at a CAF Under-20 Championship. Since then, his career has been on an upward trajectory.

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