Referee Juma Osire banned following Ochan's red card

The Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) Referees Disciplinary Panel has banned referee Juma Osire for one month.

Osire received the ban after sanctioning Derrick Ochan’s red card during the Police FC Premier League match against Vipers SC.

Ochan was sent off after the official judged he had handled the ball outside his area, a decision that was later overturned by the Premier League secretariat.

Osire, who was George Olemu’s assistant during the February 19 encounter at St Mary’s Stadium, flagged down Ochan’s move which consequently led to the red card and he has now been banned for one month.

“Disciplinary proceedings were opened against assistant referee Mr [Juma] Osire for making a clear refereeing mistake during the Vipers SC vs Police FC match played on 19th February 2021 at St Mary’s Kitende Stadium,” Fufa’s statement read on Thursday.

“He was poorly positioned at the time of the incident hence wrongly issuing a red card to Uganda Police player Ochan Derrick/shirt no.19.”

“The Fufa Referees Disciplinary Panel (FRDP) considered Osire’s defence and made the findings; Osire is a referee and is therefore bound by the rules that govern referees at Fufa and the panel found that the referee made a wrong call by issuing the red card.”

“In the present case, the Fufa referees disciplinary panel sanctioned Osire with a one month ban from all football-related activities effective immediately as of 3rd March 2021,” the statement further reads.

After Ochan’s red card, Vipers came from behind to win 3-2 against Police FC.