FIFA Bans Tanzanian Referee Charles Mbaga From Football for Life

Tanzanian referee Oden Charles Mbaga has been banned for life from all football-related activities after the FIFA independent Ethics Committee found him guilty of receiving a bribe.

The 40-year-old has also been fined 200,000 Swiss francs ($200,000) after the committee found him to have breached the code of conduct by accepting monetary ‘gifts’.

“Mr. Mbaga has been banned for life from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level,” FIFA said in a statement on Tuesday.

The investigation into the towering official was opened on 11 July 2018. He was found guilty of accepting bribes to manipulate several national and international matches between 2009 and 2012.

FIFA’s ethics committee did not state which games the world body had taken into account when investigating Mbaga.

Mbaga has denied any wrongdoing in response to the corruption allegation which has linked him to match-fixer Wilson Perumal of Singapore.

This is the second time in a period of four weeks that an African referee has been banned by FIFA. Late last month, retired Niger referee Ibrahim Chaibou received a life ban and a fine of 200,000 Swiss francs.