Banning ref is a mistake
Joseph Lamptey made a mistake in Bafana Bafana's 2-1 win over Senegal and his career is over.
The Ghanaian official awarded the South African national side a penalty after the ball had struck a thigh of a Senegalese defender, thinking it had struck his arm.
I think the main contributing factor in this mistake is the fact that the player was wearing a white bandage on his had and that was exactly the colour of the match ball and the kit that Senegal were wearing. It was difficult for the official to distinguish between the thigh and the arm from a distance.
The referee has no joy of replay or seeing the action in slow motion before making a decision. That is why we need TV referees.
How many times have the officials gotten match-changing decisions wrong? Have they all been fired? No. FIFA are setting a very interesting precedent and when consistency is required they will be found wanting. It's FIFA's mistake that the TV referee strategy hasn't been implemented yet.
FIFA has dubbed the referee's actions unlawful. If that is the case then all referee's have unlawfully influenced decisions and they must all be fired.
Read the FIFA statement below:
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.
On the other hand, all charges against the Ghanaian match official David Lionheart Nii Lartey Laryea, whose behaviour had also been the subject of investigations, were dismissed by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.
Further information concerning the South Africa v. Senegal match in question will be provided once the decision becomes final and binding.
FIFA follows a zero-tolerance policy on match manipulation and is committed to protecting the integrity of football. As a result, FIFA will continue with its ongoing efforts to combat match manipulation through a variety of initiatives, which include the monitoring of international betting and a confidential reporting system with a dedicated integrity hotline and e-mail address.