NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 7- Kenyan referee Aden Marwa Range’s glowing and rising career as a football arbitrator has been nipped in the bud with the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) handing him a lifetime ban after he was caught on tape receiving a Sh60,000 ‘gift’ in an expose aired by British broadcaster BBC in June.
Of the 22 match officials who have been disciplined by CAF following a Disciplinary Board meeting on Saturday, Marwa has been handed the biggest penalty of a life time ban from any CAF activity while the rest, mostly from West Africa have been handed bans of between two to 10 years.
Jallow Ebrima, a Gambian assistant referee and Togolese referees Yanissou Bobeou have both been suspended for 10 years, something that raises concern on Marwa’s case as all were more or less snared in the same trap.
CAF did not disclose much about their findings other than communicating the disciplinary measures taken on the match officials caught in the web of the expose.
Ivory Coast match officials BI Valere Gouho Marius Tan and Coulibaly Abou have been handed the least disciplinary measure, each being suspended for two years.
Eleven other officials, 10 Ghanaian and one Liberian have been suspended pending investigations and are expected to appear before the disciplinary board on August 5.
The investigative piece done by Ghanaian journalist Anas exposed purportedly receiving a 600 USD ‘gift’ from undercover journalists while on official duty during the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Morocco.
The report forced Marwa to resign from his World Cup duty, one that would have seen him come back home from Russia with a handsome pay-cheque of slightly over Sh2.5mn.