A Kenyan referee who had been chosen for the 2018 World Cup in Russia has been banned for life after accepting a bribe, an African Football Confederation (CAF) statement said on Sunday.
Marwa Range was dropped from the World Cup list after a media sting exposed him accepting a $6 000 bribe from a journalist posing as a Ghanaian football official.
A terse CAF statement gave no details about what Range was expected to do in return for the cash.
Range is the second major casualty of a series of stings by Ghanaian journalists, which led to follow countryman Kwesi Nyantakyi resigning as CAF first vice-president over corruption.
A total of 22 referees are affected by the CAF crackdown with Togolese Yanissou Bebou and Gambian Jallow Ebrima banned for 10 years each.
Ivory Coast referee Denis Dembele, a regular on the African national team and club fixtures circuit, got a six-year ban.
A further seven match officials received suspensions ranging between two and five years, according to the statement.
Another 11 referees 10 Ghanaians and one Liberian have been provisionally banned pending appearances before a CAF disciplinary board on August 5.
