An African Cup of Nations qualifier in Zambia had to be postponed for 24 hours when the referees failed to arrive.
The Confederation of African Football ordered the Group C qualifier between Zambia and the Comoros Islands in Lusaka to be rescheduled for Sunday because the officiating team from Eritrea were stuck in transit in Dubai.
The referees were expected to arrive near midnight on Saturday, the match commissioner, Wellington Nyatanga of Zimbabwe, told a news conference.
Replacement officials from South Africa were on standby to catch an early plane from Johannesburg on Sunday if the Eritrean team did not arrive.
Poor flight connections on the continent often mean that teams and officials have to fly via Europe or the Middle East to get from one African country to another.
