Confederation of African Football bans seven referees and linesman from Ghana over bribery allegations

Cairo: Seven referees and linesmen from Ghana have been handed lengthy bans as the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Tuesday announced a new round of sanctions for match officials caught up in a bribery sting.

Referee David Laryea was banned for life and six other officials received 10-year suspensions. Eleven officials were sanctioned last month in an unprecedented clean-up by African soccer’s governing body, which has long been plagued by bribery allegations.

Kenyan linesman Marwa Range, who had been due to officiate at this year’s World Cup, was filmed receiving a $600 bribe during this year’s African Nations Championship in Morocco and was given a life ban.

Range, a reserve official at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, had earlier been removed from the list of referees for this year’s tournament in Russia.

CAF also suspended a further 14 officials from eight different countries, including four Ghanaians.