Match Review Panel Suspend Referees that officiated Steadfast vs Tamale City game for failing to award a penalty to Steadfast Fc
The match review panel has suspended Referee Foster Bastiours and his assistant Azor Azurero for failing to award a penalty to Steadfast fc when Fataw Issahaku was brought down inside the 18th yard box of Tamale City FC.
Below are the decisions taken by the Review panel:
According to the complaint in the first half of the match, Referee Foster Bastiours allowed two players of Tamale City to stand just by the human wall of Steadfast when there was a free kick which resulted in the equalizer.
Again Steadfast FC claimed that in the 48th minute of the 2nd half, the Referee and Assistant Referee 1 Cletus Azor Azurero disallowed a goal which was scored by Steadfast FC’s Abdul Fatawu Issahaku. They further accused the Referee and the same assistant of waving for play to continue after a player was brought down in the penalty area of Tamale City.
After watching the video recording of the game, the Match review panel observed that the required distance of 1 metre or more could only be determined by the Referee who was closer to the scene. The panel therefore agreed that the goal scored in Steadfast’s first complaint was a good goal.
On the second complaint, the Panel saw that the whole circumference of the ball did not cross the goal line as complained by Steadfast FC.
However on the third complaint, the Panel observed that there was a clear hand pulling of the attacker of Steadfast FC which should have resulted in a penalty but the referee waved play-on.
DECISION
The Match Review Panel therefore recommended that the Referee Foster Bastiours and Assistant referee Cletus Azor Azurero should be suspended for the rest of the league season for not awarding a clear penalty which affected the outcome of the match.
By Saaka Yakubu Issah