The Ghana Football Association,GFA, disciplinary Committee have banned Ghanaian referee Reginald Lathbridge for life.
This means referee Reginald Lathbridge is not expected to take part in any football-related activities both on the local scene and international level.
Lathbridge is the referee whose mistake of wrongfully recording a booking resulted in Great Olympics’ court case with the GFA, a move that delayed the start of the league for weeks.
At the Committee's hearing, the referee admitted he made a mistake of not submitting a complete and accurate Match Report to the GFA in the Matchday 7 of the 2016/2017 Ghana Premier League match played between Bechem United FC and Elmina Sharks FC at Bechem thereby bringing the game into disrepute.
He, however, apologized to the committee and all stakeholders of football in the country.
Referee Reginald Lathbridge’s actions are in violation of Articles 22 and 35(7)(d) in the GFA General regulations and other regulations in respect of this matter.
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The Disciplinary Committee states that the importance of the Match Official’s Reports in football cannot be overemphasised in view of Article 85 of the GFA Disciplinary Code which presumes that the Referee’s Report is accurate and considered authoritative regarding matters on incidents that take place on the field of play and the far-reaching consequences any inaccuracy may lead to.