Pitso Mosimane. Photo by Fadi El Assaad – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Pitso Mosimane. Photo by Fadi El Assaad – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
It’s hard to see how Maguette N’Diaye could ever set foot in South Africa, let alone take charge of another Bafana Bafana game in the foreseeable future. The referee put in a shocker of a performance during SA’s do-or-die World Cup Qualifier against Ghana on Sunday – and the tie was decided by a dubious penalty.
Who is Maguette N’Diaye?
An innocuous challenge in the box was deemed as a foul by N’Diaye, prompting an apoplectic response in Mzansi. The spot-kick was converted, and Ghana won 1-0. SAFA has confirmed it will ask FIFA to investigate a possible case of match-fixing, and a petition to replay the game has already gone viral online.
However, this wouldn’t be Maguette N’Diaye’s only controversial moment this year. Back in May, he officiated a CAF Champions League game between Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly and Mamelodi Sundowns. It didn’t go well.
Pitso Mosimane ‘has clashed’ with Bafana referee
Both sides felt aggrieved by the referee’s performance: Sundowns felt that Al Ahly should have been reduced to 10 men, whereas Pitso’s side argued they were denied two stonewall penalties. The Egyptian side eventually went one step further, and raised an official complaint against N’Diaye and his divisive display:
“Al Ahly filed an official complaint to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over the performance of the Senegalese referee, Maguette N’Diaye, who was in charge of our game against Mamelodi Sundowns in the first leg of the CAF Champions League quarter-finals, after committing several mistakes which affected the game’s result.”
“The Senegalese referee denied Al Ahly a rightful penalty after the opponent’s goalkeeper committed a clear foul against Sherif inside the penalty area. Furthermore, the club mentioned that the referee did not provide the protection for our players during the match and they were exposed to hard tackles from Mamelodi Sundowns’ players.”
Al Ahly statement
Bafana drama: Maguette N’Diaye ‘never far from trouble’…
N’Diaye also endured a brief spell of notoriety a few years ago – he was allegedly ‘beaten up’ by CS Sfaxien players after they lost 3-0 in another crucial CAFCL match. However, this rumour has since been debunked.
Speaking to Goal in 2019, N’Diaye explained that it was an assistant referee who was assaulted by the enraged athletes, and not himself. But controversy certainly seems to follow this particular official…
“It should be noted that it is not me who appears in the video circulating on the internet and on social networks. Nobody attacked me, it’s my second assistant who was assaulted.”
Maguette N’Diaye
