The Confederation of African Football has banned eight Ghanaian referees in the wake of a recent corruption scandal in the country’s football.
While seven of the eight officials copped a ten-year suspension each, one has been slapped with a life ban.
The development comes two months after an investigative documentary titled ‘Number 12’ – produced by renowned Ghanaian undercover journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his Tiger Eye Private Investigations team – exposed corrupt and match-fixing activities of officials and referees of the Ghana Football Association.
“On 5th August 2018, the Disciplinary Board of Confederation of African Football held a meeting in order to decide over the cases of the referees named by media as being corrupted on Caf and federation matches,” a Caf statement on Tuesday reads.
Assistant referee David Laryea is apparently the worst hit as he has been banned for “life from all Caf related football activities”.
Assistant referees Salifu Malik and Eric Nantierre have each been suspended for 10 years, same as centre referees Reginald Lathbridge, Cecil Fleischer and Dawood Ouedraogo.
Technical instructor Joseph Wellington and women assistant referee Theresa Akongyam are also out for 10 years.
Meanwhile, centre referees Prosper Adii, Afful Isaka Ayensu, Nathan Anafo and assistant referee Ibrahim Badiu have been “provisionally suspended pending their appearance in front of the next meeting of the Disciplinary Board”.
Nine other officials from other African countries have also been provisionally banned.
