Meanwhile, in Tunis, a blunder by Guinea goalkeeper Kemoko Camara handed Mali a 2-1 injury-time win.

Mnari's header in the 65th minute separated the two sides in in the quarter-final characterised by numerous scuffles and uncompromising tackles.

The midfielder caught the defence unguarded as he guided home an extravagant cross from Ziad Jaziri, whose bicycle kick found Mnari unmarked on the right hand side.

The goal sparked a furious attack on the referee by the Senegalese players, who felt Liverpool forward El Hadji Diouf had been fouled in the build-up to the goal.

The incident resulted in a four-minute stoppage, with officials spilling on to the ground to add to the chaos, and set the tone for an acrimonious end to the game.

Referee Ali Bujsaim from the United Arab Emirates battled to control tempers as the match drew to close and added 10 minutes of time on at the end to make up for the stoppages.

Diouf, the two-time African Footballer of the Year, had to be restrained after the game from attacking the referee as Senegal bitterly contested the defeat.

However, the World Cup quarter-finalists rarely created any chances as Diouf, their most creative player, spent most of the match arguing with the match officials and his opponents.

Tunisia's towering defence proved difficult to break down and Senegal's decision to opt for the pace of Lamine Sakho upfront and leave the powerful Mamadou Niang on the bench, looked to have backfired.

Tunisia also had few direct opportunities but were quick to capitalise when they caught the Senegal defence out of position midway through the second-half of the match played in front of an almost capacity crowd at the 60,000-seater stadium.

Goal hero Mnari was later carried off in a stretcher after a blow behind the head from Senegal midfielder Pape Bouba Diop, that went unpunished by the referee.

The win sparked furious celebrations from the partisan crowd. Tunisia next meet either Cameroon or Nigeria, who play in their quarter-final at Monastir on Sunday, on Wednesday.

Earlier on Saturday, Mali became the first side into the semi-finals after a last-gasp win over Guinea.

Goalkeeper Camara allowed a seemingly harmless shot by Mali midfielder Mahamadou Diarra to slip through his arms and into the net as the Eagles reached their second consecutive Nations Cup semi-final after a match littered with defensive blunders.

Camara sat disconsolately in his goal at the end.

Girondins Bordeaux midfielder Pascal Feindouno put Guinea ahead in the 15th minute but Mali's Frederic Kanoute equalised with his fourth goal of the tournament in first half injury-time following a mistake by Schumann Bah.

Guinea missed three good chances in the last 10 minutes and had also wasted a chance 2-0 ahead seconds before Kanoute's equaliser.

Mali, though, should have taken the lead in the third minute when Dramane Traore broke clear of a square Guinea defence but shot straight at Camara.

Guinea then went ahead after Mali lost possession on the left. Souleymane Youla collected the ball and fed Aboubacar Titi Camara.

The former Olympique Marseille, West Ham and Liverpool striker resisted the temptation to shoot and slipped the ball to Feindouno, who placed his shot under Mahamadou Sidibe.

Guinea nearly doubled their lead in first-half injury time when Camara, who failed to score for the first time in the tournament, set up Youla but the Turkish-based player fired straight at Sidibe from an excellent position.

Mali went straight downfield and equalised with almost the last kick of the half.

Kanoute, who had earlier seen a powerful volley tipped over, pounced and lobbed the ball into the net after Guinea full-back Bah tried to head the ball back to the goalkeeper but missed.

Kanoute wasted Mali's best second-half chance when he shot straight at Camara after Dramane Traore had sent him clear with a defence-splitting pass. Traore himself had earlier been denied when his far-post volley was parried by Sidibe.

Fanare and Titi Camara were both close to late winners for Guinea, who also hit the post with a shot which ricocheted off a Mali defender.

Mali appeared happy to hang on for extra time until Camara's astonishing mistake.