Rajindraparsad Seechurn of Mauritius, the referee at the centre of the controversial penalty decision that helped the hosts Equatorial Guinea reach the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations has been banned, the Confederation of African Football said in a statement on Tuesday.

He has also been removed from the list of top African officials, effectively ending his international career.

Equatorial Guinea were on the brink of elimination trailing 1-0 to Tunisia in the 90th minute when Seechurn ruled that Ivan Bolado had been fouled. Javier Balboa equalised from the spot and they went on to win 2-1 in extra-time.

The Tunisia team, some of whom attempted to attack the referee after Saturday’s quarter-final defeat in Bata, were handed a $50,000 (£33,000) fine but no individual sanctions were announced.

Equatorial Guinea were also sanctioned for poor security at the match. They play Ghana on Sunday.