Sudan football official gets 15-match ban for referee assault

Sudan Football Association vice president Yasser Nasreddin Hamza Al-Samani has been banned from their next 15 competitive matches for assaulting a match official at a World Cup qualifier last month, world football's governing body FIFA said.

The incident came after Sudan had lost 1-0 in Lome to Togo, effectively ending their 2026 World Cup hopes.

Sudan's assistant coach Ignatius Osei-Fosu, who is from Ghana, was also handed a three-match ban for what Fifa said was "unsporting behaviour towards a match official". The referees for the game on September 9 came from Madagascar.

Both men were also fined CHF5 000 ($6 214) or Ksh 806,000.