African Referee Suspended For Using Cellphone During Match

An African referee has been banned indefinitely from officiating after he ruled out a goal using a cellphone.

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An Egyptian referee and his matchday officiating team have been suspended for an indefinite period after the absence of VAR caused the match official to rule out a late equaliser using a fan's cellphone.

Mohamed Farouk was the man tasked with presiding over an Egyptian second division clash between Al Nasr and Suez last week Friday. The visitors, Al Nasr, were trailing 2-1 late in the game, but, in the dying embers of the encounter managed to find the back of the net and salvage a point.

That would not be the last of the drama as the home spectators protested vehemently at the goal and invited Farouk to have a look at the legitimacy of the goal via a fan's phone. After seeing the footage on the supporter's device, the referee decided to rule out the goal for handball and the home side came away with all three points.

As a consequence of his actions, Farouk and his matchday staff have been handed a substantial punishment as the head of the Egyptian Referees Committee Vitor Pereira has banned them for an undisclosed amount of time, as per the Daily Mail. 

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Pereira's decision was confirmed by the Egyptian FA, who released a statement which said: "The committee decided to investigate the incident when Mohamed Farouk, the referee of the match, used a mobile phone to review footage of the match's events."

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