From Mike Smith leading Egypt’s triumph to Ivory Coast’s marathon shootout win and Zambia’s emotional 2012 success, half a dozen Afcon events to savour
The Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser will never be allowed to forget his role in one of the most galling defeats in English history but, in the name of fair play, we should also recall that only a few months prior to carrying out an impromptu study of Mexican cloud patterns while Diego Maradona punched the ball past Peter Shilton, Bin Nasser presided over a glorious English success. He was the referee who kept a careful eye on the 1986 Africa Cup of Nations final, scrupulously permitting no manual skulduggery as the manager Mike Smith helped Egypt to end a long and painful wait for victory. So let’s call it quits.
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