Ghanaian referee Lamptey handed three-month ban by Caf

The match official has been barred from football for the next three months following mistakes made during the Bafana Bafana’s win over Teranga Lions

Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey has been punished by the Confederation of African Football for “technical error” made during South Africa’s 2-1 victory over Senegal in the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

South Africa were controversially awarded a penalty after a Senegal defender cleared the ball from his box but the referee insisted he used his hand in the process, although television replays showed otherwise.

Also, Lamptey allowed Thulani Serero’s goal from a free-kick to stand when he had stopped play to give verbal warning to Idrissa Gana Gueye and Cheikhou Kouyate.

The Senegal Football Federation protested against Lamptey’s decisions in a letter to Caf last week and the ruling has automatically prevented him from officiating in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon next two months.

“Following the dispute and protest letter from the FSF on the refereeing of the match between South Africa and Senegal, Caf informs that its Referee Commission has decided to suspend referee Lamptey for three months,” a Caf statement read.

“The latter being thus excluded from the next African Nations Cup in Gabon, because of his poor performance,” the statement added.

This sanction is the second time in five years that Lamptey has gone into the bad books of Caf. He was hit with a six-month ban in 2011 when he allowed a ‘bad goal’ for Esperance against Al Ahly in the semi-finals Caf Champions League.

Source: Goal