CAF bans Nigerian referee Joseph Ogabor for one year over attempted match manipulation
According to the Confederation of African Football the incident concerned a Confederation Cup match on 7 April in Lagos.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has banned Nigerian referee Joseph Ogabor for one year over attempted match manipulation.
CAF’s decision follows investigations made after accusations by South African officials in charge of a Confederation Cup match in Lagos on 7 April between Nigerian team Plateau United and Algerian side USM Alger.
According to a brief statement by CAF, those officials were contacted by Ogabor to provide ‘technical assistance’ to the Nigerian team. No further details were given.
Plateau won the match 2-1, however, the Algerian side took the lead on the return-leg, winning it 4-0.
#CAF #Nigeria #referee Joseph Ogabor banned from any official mission for one year for attempted match manipulation with respect to the #CAFCC 1/16th round first leg between Plateau United (Nigeria) and USM Alger (Algeria) played on 7 April 2018 in Lagos. pic.twitter.com/zIk0FGYP2G
— 𝙆𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙖 𝙏𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙮 (@TityKayishema) April 29, 2018
Match-fixing in Africa
After recent incidents, Africa has proven to be a fertile ground for match-fixing.
On March 2017, Ghanaian referee Joseph Odartei Lamptet was banned for life by FIFA after being found guilty of ‘unlawfully influencing match results.’
His corruption came into notoriety after he awarded South Africa a controversial penalty in their 2-1 victory over Senegal in a 2018 World Cup qualifier on 12 November 2016. Due to this, the game had to be replayed.
Also, on September 2017, four Malawian referees were banned for life after it was discovered they received a $20 bribe to fix a national cup match between Nchalo United and Chipa United.
Earlier this year, CAF resolved to take over the payments of referees for international games, this in order to combat match-fixing in African football.