Did Mauritania’s President demand a penalty shootout because he was bored with a cup final?

We’ve all been there. A borefest, a dead rubber, whatever you want to call it. A game where you can't believe there's still half an hour to go.

If you’re the President of Mauritania, no problem.

The President, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, attended the Super Cup final between FC Tevragh-Zeina and ACS Ksar. Just after the hour mark, with the game tied at 1-1, Abdel Aziz apparently had seen enough.

According to the London Independent, he ordered the game to be stopped and for the contest to be decided through a penalty shoot-out.

Whatever the reason for the curtailed showpiece, the story caused a storm in Mauritanian football and spread across the world, forcing the Mauritanian FA to issue a rebuttal.

FA chief Ahmed Ould Abderrahmane declared:

"I deny in the strongest terms the intervention of the President of the Republic. The decision was made due to organisational issues in accordance with the presidents and the coaches of the two teams."

They haven't yet elaborated as to what those organisational issues might be.