FIFA orders South Africa, Senegal to replay World Cup qualifier over match fixing

FIFA on Wednesday ordered a World Cup qualifier between South Africa and Senegal to be replayed after the referee was banned for match fixing .
The November 2016 tie , which will be restaged in November, was won by South Africa 2- 1 after Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey awarded them a controversial penalty.
Lamptey was initially suspended for three months by African football’ s ruling body CAF for awarding a penalty for a non- existent handball ” , with FIFA handing down the life ban in March .
News of the rematch comes as a boost for Senegal , who are placed third , one point behind Cape Verde and Burkina Faso in African zone qualifying Group D, with two games to go .
Only the group winners secure a ticket to the 2018 finals in Russia.
FIFA explained the decision to replay the game had come after sport’ s highest court CAS had confirmed “the lifetime ban of match referee , Joseph Lamptey , for match manipulation , the ruling imposed by the FIFA Disciplinary and Appeal Committees ” .
The statement added: “ The match will be replayed within the November 2017 international window , with the exact date to be confirmed in due course .