JOHANNESBURG — Burkina Faso winger Jonathan Pitroipa, controversially sent off in its semifinal win over Ghana Wednesday, has had his dismissal rescinded by CAF and can play in Sunday's African Nations Cup final against Nigeria. The Confederation of African Football's referee's review committee overturned Pitroipa's ban after Tunisian referee Slim Jdidi told CAF he made a mistake with the second yellow card shown to the player for simulation. Jdidi has since been suspended by African soccer's governing body for his handling of the match which surprise package Burkina Faso won 3-2 on penalties after the game ended 1-1 following extra time. Pitroipa, 26, who had already been booked for deliberate handball, went to ground three minutes before the end of extra time inside the penalty area but TV replays clearly showed he had been fouled in the 117th minute incident and did not dive. A senior CAF official told Reuters: “The referee wrote the letter to the review committee saying he had made a mistake. The review committee examined footage of the incident and agreed Pitroipa had been fouled. “It asked the disciplinary committee to verify its decision which the disciplinary committee is entitled to do under the terms of CAF's rules and regulations.” Earlier Friday, CAF President Issa Hayatou had indicated Pitroipa's ban would be overturned when he told reporters: “Everyone realized that this referee did not officiate well. “The referee admitted his error — he recognized that he had got it wrong.” Pitroipa, who plays for Stade Rennes in France, has been highly influential for the Burkinabe on their route to the final, scoring twice including the winner in the 1-0 quarterfinal extra-time victory over Togo. Ghana and Mali, meanwhile, have to lift themselves from bitter disappointment for another third-place match at the African Cup of Nations after falling in the semifinals for the second straight year. The teams will have played each other four times in two tournaments by the end of Saturday's bronze-medal match in Port Elizabeth after twice being grouped together and then twice meeting in the match no team wants to play. Mali won third place at the last tournament having also lost to Ghana in the group stages. Ghana's single shining light following a painful loss on penalties to Burkina Faso in the last four will be whether young midfielder Wakaso Mubarak can end as top scorer on his tournament debut, having given Ghana victory over Mali in their group match. Espanyol's Wakaso is tied with Nigeria's Emmanuel Emenike on four goals in South Africa with one game for each to play. However, Emenike remains an injury doubt for Sunday's final at Soccer City after helping to end Mali's hopes of a first title in the first semi, when the Malians were beaten 4-1 having raised hopes that they might make their first final in over 40 years. Ghana's devastated players will need help to be ready for the third-place match at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, assistant coach Maxwell Konadu said, after blowing a lead against the Burkinabes in Wednesday's semifinals. Mali was outplayed by Nigeria in Durban, but it may have a little more motivation than Ghana for its final game, as the Malians have dedicated their uplifting campaign to their conflict-torn home country. — Agencies
