Four football officials have been given lifetime bans after accepting a bribe of just $20, in what seem to be one of the most extraordinary match-fixing scandals ever seen.
The incident took place in Malawi, southeastern Africa, in a national cup match between Nchalo United and Chitipa United.
The four officials were instructed to fix a match, however, the team they accepted the bribe from lost the tie and they were forced to pay back $15, leaving the guilty officials with just $5 to share between the four of them. Referee Aziz Nyirenda, as well as assistant referees Limbani Chisambi and Stephano Gomani, and fourth official Jimmy Phiri, were found guilty by the Malawian referees association after the team they accepted the bribe from, Nchalo United, lost in a penalty shootout.
So far there have been no charges brought to Nchalo United, however, there is a case against the team pending. One of the assistant referees found guilty of match-fixing, Limbani Chisambi, claimed: “I never took [a] share of the money. It is so sad that my career has ended in this manner.”
