August 8 – In yet another crackdown on corruption, seven referees and linesmen from Ghana have been handed lengthy bans by the Confederation of African Football after being caught up in a bribery sting.
Referee David Laryea was banned for life and six other officials received 10-year suspensions.
Hidden camera footage from undercover Ghanaian journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas released in June laid bare a culture of corruption in African football and CAF announced on its website that Laryea had been banned for life after he was filmed accepting money to influence the outcome of matches.
Those who received 10-year bans were named as Lathbridge Reginald, Nantierre Eric, Fleischer Cecil, Ouedraogo Dawood, Salifu Malik, Ms Akongyam Theresa and Wellington Joseph, a Technical Instructor – all from Ghana.
Fourteen more referees and linesmen from across Africa were suspended pending their appearance in front of the CAF disciplinary board.
Last month 11 officials were sanctioned over the same scandal by CAF which continues to try to get to grips with widespread match-fixing allegations. Those sanctioned then included Kenya’s Aden Range Marwa, who was initially supposed to officiate at the World Cup in Russia.
In Ghana the revelations brought down Kwesi Nyantakyi, the second most important figure in African football, and led the government to shut down the country’s football authorities.
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