A football coach in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jonathan Bukabakwa, has been provisionally suspended for an initial five months after a preliminary investigation into allegations of sexual abuse against minors by the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA).

The suspension of Bukabakwa was confirmed in a statement by the global football body following an investigation by its ethics committee after allegations of sexual abuse of minors were made on several media platforms in November last year.

Bukabakwa who worked as a coach at clubs in the regions of Lipopo and Malebo, was one of a number of coaches in the country under investigation over a widespread case of sexual harassment of both male and female players.

“The coach, Jonathan Bukabakwa’s suspension covers all football-related activities at national and international level after formal investigation proceedings were opened yesterday by FIFA,” the statement released on Friday said.

In a related case of sexual harassment currently rocking the Cameroon Sports Federation, the president of the
Cameroonian Paralympic Committee, Herve Guy Ngoyo Ngong, was also slapped with an indefinite suspension following allegations of sexually abusing disabled female athletes.

The Cameroonian sports body President, Jean-Jacques Ndoudoumou, confirmed on Friday that Ngong was suspended while an investigation is carried out into allegations of rape made against him.

“The suspension will remain in place while police carry out their investigation,” Ndoudoumou said at a press conference in Yaounde.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA), has suspended a referee, Mohamed Farouk, for disallowing a goal in a lower league match after watching the replay on a mobile phone belonging to a spectator.

The indefinite suspension of Farouk was announced by the EFA on Wednesday following a review of the incident during the match involving between Al Nasr and Suez.

In the tie, the hosts, Suez, had argued that an Al Nasr goal could not stand because the scorer had used his hand.

As there are no Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the Egypt second tier, Farouk had to rely on a spectator who had recorded the goal on his phone and after viewing the “replay”, he had to chalk off the goal.

According to the EFA, at the end of the game, with the visiting team’s fans baying for his blood, Farouk and the rest of the match officials had to be escorted down the tunnel by police.

A statement by the Football Association said “Suez had argued that an Al Nasr goal could not stand because the scorer had used his hand.”

“The referee, crossed the Rubicon when he grabbed a fan’s phone to watch a goal replay in the heat of the moment,” the EFA said.

“After a second look at the goal on the fan’s mobile device on the touchline, Farouk overturned the goal decision.”

“Suez went on to win the match 3-1 after the referee added 15 minutes of stoppage time,” the body said.

The Head of the Referees Committee of the EFA, Vitor Pereira, also said Farouk and his assistants have been placed on suspension for an “indefinite period.”

“The Committee decided to investigate the incident when Mohamed Farouk, the referee of the match, used a mobile phone to review one of the footage of the match’s events,” Pereira said.