Rajindraparsad Seechurn from Mauritius, who officiated the Africa Cup of Nations quarter final tie between Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea, has been banned and effectively sacked following a highly tense match in which the hosts were able to proceed to the semi finals at the expense of their North African counterparts.
Tunisia looked set for an easy victory against the little fancied hosts but, after Equatorial Guinea’s Ivan Bolado went down under a seemingly innocuous challenge in the Tunisia box, Seechurn promptly pointed to the spot, allowing Javier Balboa to equalize and take the match to extra time. The hosts eventually won the game 2-1.
After reviewing a footage of the incident, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has banned the Mauritian official for six months and removed him from the list of top African officials, a move that is tantamount to ending his refereeing career. In addition, Seechurn has to cough up a $50,000 fine.
Tunisia have also been fined $5,000 for attempting to attack Seechurn but no individual players have been punished by the CAF.
