FIFA Explains Why Ref Was Banned For Life

Fifa has explained why Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey was banned for life, saying he tried “to make certain bets successful” in a World Cup qualifiers.

“He [took] intentional decisions with the sole purpose of facilitating a minimum number of goals to make certain bets successful,” Fifa said.

Fifa said it was alerted to possible match manipulation by five different betting monitoring companies who “independently and simultaneously reported” that irregular betting activities had taken place.

In a statement: “Suspicious betting activities reached their climax precisely when Lamptey took the incorrect refereeing decision between the 40th minute and the end of the first half.”

“All five betting operators deemed the betting activities witnessed during the match to be highly irregular and indicative of match manipulation,” Fifa affirmed.

No details were given of who may have placed the bets.

Neither South Africa nor Senegal were found to have been involved in the “match manipulation”.