FIFA lifetime ban to Joseph Lamptey was influenced by betting

Ghanaian referee is Joseph Lamptey is facing serious allegations within FIFA quarters as claims are rife that he was influenced by betting syndicates to force the outcome of South Africa's win over Senegal.

The 42-year-old referee‚ whose father was also a FIFA match official and later a president of the Ghana Football Association‚ had been influenced to ensure South Africa won by betting syndicates‚ according to FIFA insiders.

Investigation of the betting odds suggested Lamptey had been paid to ensure a 2-1 score line which had been the preferred score that betting syndicates had placed money on.

Fifa monitors all betting on its matches and competitions.

Irregular spikes in betting or unusually high amounts of money placed on the outcome of a game triggers alarm bells.

In February Fifa closed down its own Early Warning System and outsourced the work to Sportradar‚ a private company that was detecting global match fixing and irregular betting patterns for Uefa‚ the Asian Football Confederation and South America’s CONMEBOL.

At the time of the change‚ Fifa president Gianni Infantino was at pains to stress that weeding out betting criminals was still a priority.

Describing match fixing as "still a serious concern for everyone who loves the game"‚ Infantino said Sportradar would "invigorate and enhance" Fifa’s own integrity programme.