CAF suspend Tunisian referee

Tunisian referee Slim Jedidi has been suspended for his poor officiating during the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final on Wednesday.

Burkina Faso advanced to the final of the tournament with a 3-2 penalty shootout win over Ghana, but not before several controversial decisions by Jedidi.

Paul Put’s men were denied an early penalty before Jedidi awarded Ghana a soft spot-kick, while the winners also had a goal ruled out and Jonathan Pitroipa sent off.

Hicham El Amrani, general secretary of the Confederation of African Football, said a better standard of officiating had been expected.

“CAF was not happy with the standard of refereeing in the match,” he said. “We know they can make mistakes, but we expected a better level of refereeing.

“They are graded on each performance and – based on his marks – the referee from Tunisia is now suspended for a period of time still to be determined.”

Burkina Faso lodged an official appeal to CAF on Thursday to try and regain Pitroipa’s services for the final against Nigeria on Sunday.

The influential forward has starred for Burkina Faso but harshly received a second yellow card for simulation against Ghana.

“There is a meeting tomorrow (Friday) but you have to understand that the referee’s report is final and so if he doesn’t make mention of having made a mistake, it stays that way,” El Amrani said.

Burkina Faso are confident of winning the appeal, while both Put and team manager Gualbert Kabore slammed Jedidi for his performance after their victory.