FIFA Men's World Cup

FIFA drops Saudi referee from World Cup after fixing ban

Published May. 30, 2018 11:27 a.m. ET

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ZURICH (AP) FIFA has dropped referee Fahad Al Mirdasi from the World Cup after he was banned from football for life in Saudi Arabia over match fixing.

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation said two weeks ago that Fahad Al Mirdasi asked for money to help a team win a cup final.

Now FIFA says its referees' committee has decided that his conditions to be selected for the World Cup in Russia ''are not satisfied anymore.''

As a result, the entire Saudi refereeing team has been removed from the tournament, including two assistants.

FIFA says Al Mirdasi won't be directly replaced. Instead, the governing body will take two additional assistant referees from the United Arab Emirates and Japan.

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