CAF bans Ghanaian referees after graft revelations

CAIRO: The Confederation of African Football on Tuesday announced it had banned eight Ghanaian match officials from the game after explosive bribe-taking revelations.

Hidden camera footage from undercover Ghanaian journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas released in June purportedly laid bare a culture of corruption in African football.

Continental governing body CAF said it had banned one Ghanaian assistant referee for life and three referees, three assistant referees and a technical instructor for 10 years. The bans covered “all CAF related football activities”, a statement said.

Fourteen more match officials from across Africa were suspended pending their appearance in front of the disciplinary board, it said.The graft uncovered by Anas rocked football authorities and fans in Ghana and throughout Africa.

CAF earlier banned 11 referees and assistant referees from across the continent on July 7 over the scandal.Those sanctioned included Kenya’s Aden Range Marwa, who was initially supposed to officiate at the World Cup in Russia. In Ghana the revelations claimed the scalp of football association president Kwesi Nyantakyi and led the government to shut down the country’s football authorities.