Following the decision to hand Ghanaian referee, J.O. Lamptey, a lifetime ban for manipulation over incidents in a match involving South Africa and Senegal in 2016, FIFA has announced that the said match will be replayed in November this year.
Referee Lamptey’s performance was criticized by Senegalese officials after he awarded a penalty to South Africa when the ball clearly hit the thigh of defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
South Africa went on to win the match by two goals to one.
Lamptey was subsequently banned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for three months following complaints from the Senegalese Football Federation.
He was banned for life by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee and the decision was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
FIFA’s statement on the replay of the match read as follows:
“The Bureau for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers ordered a replay of the qualification match between South Africa and Senegal held on 12 November 2016.
This decision follows the confirmation of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to uphold the lifetime ban of match referee, Joseph Lamptey, for match manipulation, the ruling imposed by the FIFA Disciplinary and Appeal Committees. The match will be replayed within the November 2017 international window, with the exact date to be confirmed in due course.
As stated in the FIFA World Cup regulations, this decision shall come into effect immediately but shall be subject to confirmation by the Organising Committee for FIFA Competitions at its next meeting, scheduled for 14 September.”
Lamptey is not new to controversy on the African continent.
He was given a 6-month ban for allowing a goal scored by the hand of Michael Eneramo to stand in favour of Esperance in a CAF Champions League match played in 2010.
In addition, he has been at the centre of matches that have been determined by some controversial officiating decisions.
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By: Nathan Quao/citifmonline.com/Ghana