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Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
FORMER Zimbabwe Football Association Referees Committee secretary general, Obert Zhoya has been slapped with a five-year ban from all football activities by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (Fifa) after he was found guilty of abusing his position to sexually harass female referees.
Zhoya has also been fined CHF 20,000 by Fifa’s adjudicatory chamber.
Below is the full statement released by Fifa:
“The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has banned Mr Obert Zhoya, former secretary general of the Referees Committee of the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) from all football-related activities for a duration of five years, after having found him guilty of abusing his position to sexually harass three female ZIFA referees. In addition, the adjudicatory chamber imposed a fine amounting to CHF 20,000 on Mr Zhoya.
Upon careful analysis of the written statements of the victims as well as the various evidence collected during the investigations conducted by the investigatory chamber, the adjudicatory chamber was comfortably satisfied that Mr Zhoya had breached art. 23 (Protection of physical and mental integrity), art. 25 (Abuse of position) and, by corollary, art. 13 (General duties) of the Code of Ethics.
The terms of the decision were notified to Mr Zhoya today, the date on which the ban comes into force, and will be followed by notification of the grounds within the next 60 days in accordance with the Code of Ethics.
FIFA has a strict stance against all forms of abuse in football and the Ethics Committee handles all such cases in line with the Code of Ethics, taking into account the specificity of each.
FIFA also provides a confidential, dedicated, highly secure and web-based whistle-blowing system so that individuals can report any safeguarding concerns.”
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