The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, FIFA has dismissed South Africa’s protest against Ghana.
According to the report, Fifa has rejected South Africa’s claim against Ghana and Senegalese referee Maguitta Ndiaye following the 1-0 loss in the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers a fortnight ago.
The Black Stars needed three points to finish first in Group G and qualify for the playoffs, while South Africa just needed a point, but it was Ghana who came out on top.
After referee Ndiaye awarded Ghana a penalty after Leicester City defender Daniel Amartey was heckled in the penalty box, Andre Ayew scored the game’s sole goal. However, officials from South Africa suspected the referee had been misled, leading a protest to Fifa.
They further claimed that a Ghanaian official traveled to Senegal before the game to confer with referee Ndiaye.
Despite Ghana’s response to the claims on November 20, the official ruling has yet to be made public.
However, according to reports in the local media, Fifa has dismissed all of the charges leveled against Ghana and the referee, and hence there will be no replay, as had been expected.
Despite the lack of evidence of match manipulation and fixing, Senegalese referee Ndiaye Maguette is likely to face a games penalty because his overall performance was deemed below average by the match review panel.
Ghana will advance to the next round of the competition, where it will face either Senegal, the continent’s top-ranked country, or Morocco.
The Black Stars could possibly face Nigeria, Tunisia, or Mali, as these countries complete the top five rated countries remaining in the qualifiers.
The official playoff draw has been rescheduled from December to January 2022, with games slated for March 2022.
