Following strong criticism of his performance in the Africa Cup of Nations semifinal between Brukina Faso and Ghana (which Burkina Faso won 3-2 on penalties), referee SlimJdidi from Tunisia has been suspended for a “period yet to be determined” by the Confederation of African Football.
Among Jdidi’s more questionable decisions:sending off Burkina Faso’s Jonathan Pitroipa for diving in overtime (it looked like he was tripped), ruling out a legitimate Prejuce Nakoulma goal, and givingGhana a debatable penalty. After the game, Burkina Faso coach Paul Put described Jdidi’s performance as “scandalous.”
In a press conference, CAF generalsecretary Hicham El Amrani said: “The CAF is not happy with the refereeing of the match,” El Amrani told a media briefing. We know that they (the referees) can make mistakes but hewould hope for a better level of officiating.” He added that Burkina Faso was likely to fail in its appeal of Pitroipa’s dismissal unless Jdidi owned up to his mistake in his gamereport.
The African Nations Cup final between Nigeria and Burkina Faso will be held on Sunday in Johannesburg. Because Jdidi admitted his red card to Pitroipa was an error, Pitroipa will notbe suspended for the finals.