RIYADH: The Saudi Football Federation has banned referee Fahad al-Mirdasi for life over bribery and urged FIFA to remove him from the pool of referees for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. "The Ittihad president Hamad Al-Sanayeh called the Saudi Football Federation to state there was evidence that Fahad Al-Mirdasi had reached out via text messages on WhatsApp. The case was referred to the Saudi Football Federation, then the General Authority for Sport -- the highest sports authority in the kingdom -- triggering an administrative investigation. The committee recommended that Saudi Arabia officially request FIFA to remove Mirdasi from the list of referees participating in the 2018 World Cup and suspend him for life. Mirdasi was one of five Arab referees chosen by FIFA to officiate at the 2018 World Cup.

Source: Bangkok Post May 16, 2018 07:07 UTC