South African football chiefs have agreed to replay a 2018 World Cup qualifying tie against Senegal but “on ethical and moral grounds”.
Their acceptance comes days after World governing body Fifa ordered the replay after the referee for the original game held on 12 November 2016, Joseph Lamptey from Ghana, awarded a penalty for a nonexistent handball and was banned for life for match manipulation.
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| Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey banned for life by Fifa |
The penalty helped South Africa beat Senegal 2-1 in the original tie last year.
South Africa scored the penalty and went on to win the qualifier for their only victory so far in the final round of qualifiers in Africa. A different result could have a big impact on the South Africa-Senegal group.
The South African Football Association (Safa) had been considering an appeal but now says it agrees with Fifa.
However it said it would appeal should the referee’s ban be overturned.
On Tuesday Safa said it “has decided on ethical and moral grounds that if this match was manipulated, we should replay it”.
It later added: “We have however, noted that the official at the centre of all this controversy has appealed his case to the courts of law.
“If the courts overturn the decision, everything becomes null and void and Safa will reserve its right to challenge the decision of Fifa to replay the match.
The game will be replayed within the November 2017 international window, with the exact date to be confirmed in due course.