World Cup qualifier to be replayed after referee is banned
September 6, 2017
FIFA says the game, which Senegal lost 2-1, is null and void and must be replayed in the upcoming November international break.
Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey awarded South Africa a controversial penalty in the 2016 match for handball but replays showed the ball hit Senegal's Kalidou Koulibaly on the knee.
Lamptey received his lifetime ban for "unlawfully influencing the match result" in March but the decision to replay the game was only announced on Wednesday. The ban has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
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Full details of Lamptey's case have not yet been published and it hasn't been confirmed if a betting scam was the reason suspected for Lamptey's decision to award the spot kick.
Lamptey has previously been suspended by the Confederation of African Football for allowing an important goal to stand in an African Champions League semifinal when it had clearly been punched in the net.
With six points each, Burkina Faso and Cape Verde lead the Group D table after four of six matches. With a repeat game now scheduled, Senegal has an opportunity to gain five points. Without the three points from the 2-1 game against Senegal, South Africa will only have one point.
The five winners of the Africa groups will qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.