FIFA Orders World Cup Qualifier To Be Replayed After Referee Banned For Life

Last November, South Africa beat Senegal 2-1 in a World Cup qualifying match, their only win through four qualifying games. However, a few months after the game, Joseph Lamptey, the referee in charge, was found guilty of “unlawfully influencing match results” and was subsequently banned for life. He appealed the decision, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld his lifetime ban today, which prompted FIFA to formally nullify the results of the game. South Africa and Senegal will now meet this November to replay the match.

This is a blow to South Africa’s World Cup chances, and they were already at the bottom of their group even with the win. In the initial meeting, South Africa opened the scoring on a penalty just before halftime. As you can see, it was a pretty ridiculous handball penalty to give, and the Senegalese players were justifiably upset.

As of now, Senegal trails Burkina Faso and Cape Verde by a point, and if they can get a result against South Africa, they have a great shot at qualifying for their second ever World Cup.