Ref suspended over blunder

JAPANESE referee Toshimitsu Yoshida has been suspended indefinitely by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for getting the penalty law wrong during a World Cup qualifier.

The incident occurred during last Saturday’s Asian World Cup qualifying play-off first leg between Uzbekistan and Bahrain in Tashkent.

Uzbekistan were leading 1-0 and were awarded a penalty after 38 minutes, which was duly converted. Yoshida however disallowed the goal because he spotted another Uzbekistan player encroaching into the penalty area.

Under Law 14 he should have ordered the kick to be re-taken. Instead he awarded Bahrain a free-kick and as a result of that technical error Uzbekistan’s 1-0 win was declared void by FIFA.