The Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA) has suspended assistant referee Aristote Jabo for four matches following a controversial offside decision that led to APR FC having a late goal wrongly disallowed in their goalless draw against Al Merrikh SC on Sunday at Amahoro Stadium.

The incident occurred in the 88th minute when APR FC appeared to have scored a decisive goal through Ghanaian midfielder Dauda Yussif, who fired a powerful shot past Al Merrikh goalkeeper Ladji Brahima Sanou. However, the effort was ruled out after the second assistant referee flagged for offside, judging that three APR players were in an offside position during the build-up.

The decision immediately sparked protests from the APR bench and players.

Following the match, FERWAFA’s Referees Commission convened on January 19 to review video footage of the incident. After its assessment, the commission concluded that a serious officiating error had been made, confirming that Yussif’s goal was wrongly disallowed due to an incorrect offside call.

As a result, FERWAFA imposed disciplinary action on Jabo, suspending him from officiating duties for four matches.

In a statement released on Monday, the federation reiterated its commitment to improving refereeing standards.

"FERWAFA will continue to strengthen the value of fairness, integrity, and the continuous improvement of the quality of refereeing in Rwandan football,” the statement reads in part.

The decision came a day after APR FC Honorary Chairman Gen Mubarakh Muganga announced that the club would file an official complaint over the disallowed goal.

Despite the suspension, APR FC head coach Taleb Abderrahim expressed frustration, arguing that punishing referees does little to compensate teams for lost points.

"What do I gain from suspending a referee? What I want is to get three points. This is an insult,” Taleb said. "We lost two points unfairly. Last time a referee was suspended for five games, but what did that help me? Now I want to be first. What does that help me?”