Pitroipa ban rescinded

Burkina Faso’s Jonathan Pitroipa will play in the Africa Cup of Nations final after his ban for receiving two yellow cards was rescinded.

Tunisian referee Slim Jdidi admitted in his match report that he made a mistake in sending Pitroipa off in the Burkina Faso-Ghana semi-final clash on Wednesday.

Jdidi’s report has given the Confederation of African Football (CAF) the power to overturn the decision, which means Pitroipa will be available for the 2013 Afcon final against Nigeria on Sunday.

“There is an overwhelming pressure to get Pitroipa back for the sake of our credibility,” a CAF official told Goal.com.

“We get the need to have a competitive final free of allegations. We need the Afcon to be without blemish.”

Burkina Faso will contest their first ever Afcon final against high-flying Nigeria at the National Stadium on Sunday. In addition to the trophy, the winners will walk away with 1.1 million euros in prize money.

CAF President Issa Hayatou was forced to defend the sum, which some fans and observers have claimed does not match the prestige of the tournament.

“The reality is that our associations are struggling. We support them. For instance, Nigeria still owe us eight million euros for TV rights,” he said.