World governing body Fifa ordered the replay after the referee for the original game, Joseph Lamptey, was banned for manipulating the match.

The South African Football Association (Safa) had been considering an appeal but now says it agrees with Fifa.

However it said it would appeal should the referee’s ban be overturned.

South Africa beat Senegal 2-1 in the original tie last year.

On Tuesday Safa said it “has decided on ethical and moral grounds that if this match was manipulated, we should replay it”.

It later added: “We have however, noted that the official at the centre of all this controversy has appealed his case to the courts of law.

“If the courts overturn the decision, everything becomes null and void and Safa will reserve its right to challenge the decision of Fifa to replay the match.

“Safa’s zero tolerance on corrupt activities within football are well documented and it is in this light that we decided to comply with the Fifa directive.”

Safa had been considering an appeal as it had not been consulted by investigators.

It means that South Africa are now bottom of Group D with a single point from three matches and now trail the third-placed Senegalese by four points.

Burkina Faso top the group with six points, just ahead of island nation Cape Verde on goal difference, with only the group winners qualifying for the World Cup in Russia.

Fifa will decide on 14 September on the exact date for the replay, which will take place in the international window in November – one month before the 2018 World Cup draw.

Neither South Africa nor Senegal have been accused of any wrongdoing.

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Source: BBC

The post We won’t appeal against World Cup replay unless… – South Africa appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The referee may seek the appeal to clear his name after he was accused of ‘match manipulation’ in relation to a match involving South Africa and Senegal in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

The FIFA statement read:
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to ban the Ghanaian match official Joseph Odartei Lamptey from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at national and international level for life.

The official was found guilty of breaching art. 69 par. 1 (unlawfully influencing match results) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia qualifying match between South Africa and Senegal on 12 November 2016.”

Process

According to Article 120 of the FIFA rules, referee Lamptey has up to three days to write to the FIFA Appeals Committee to get the process started.

After writing, Lamptey must state his reasons for the appeal withing seven days after the initial three-day period has expired.

Lamptey needs to write to the Ghana Football Association as stated in the FIFA rules so that the FA will send the letter to FIFA.

What did Lamptey do?
The referee awarded a penalty to South Africa in the match when replays showed that the ball hit the thigh of Kalidou Koulibaly.

Senegal went on file a protest to the Confederation of African Football over Lamptey’s performance and he was subsequently banned for three months making him miss the 2017 AFCON tournament.

FIFA’s use of Article 69 which talks about match manipulation hints of an investigation into possible collusion between Lamptey and certain unnamed characters to determine the result of the match.

FIFA stated that the full details of the investigation would soon be provided as the organisation would seek to continue fighting match manipulation.

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By: Nathan Quao/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The decision was released by CAF on Monday after video evidence showed that a cross struck Kalidou Koulibaly in the knee and not his arm as believed by Lamptey. The referee went on to point to the spot leading South Africa’s first goal on the day.

According to reports, the Senegalese football federation, in their disgust at the referee’s output lodged a formal complaint to CAF.

Senegal took charge of the game after going two goals down in the first half but could only get a consolation goal through the efforts of N’doye.

South Africa now share the top of the table spot in Group D with Burkina Faso.

The decision means that the veteran referee will miss the upcoming Afcon in Gabon next year.

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By: Benjamin Nketsia/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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