Banned Nigerian referee appointed for Medeama CAF Champions League tie

Nigerian referee Joseph Odey Ogabor has been selected to officiate Medeama’s CAF Champions League preliminary round first-leg match against TP Mazembe, despite previously serving a one-year ban from the Confederation of African Football. The fixture is scheduled for September 6, 2026, at the TNA Stadium in Tarkwa, with kick-off set for 15:00 GMT.

Ogabor’s appointment comes after CAF sanctioned him in 2018 over a match-manipulation case. He was found to have offered $30,000 to South African officials led by referee Victor Gomes, seeking technical assistance for Nigerian club Plateau United during their CAF Confederation Cup match against USM Alger.

The referee will lead an all-Nigerian on-field team in Tarkwa. Tejiri Besmart Digbori and Ahmad Tijjani Mustapha have been named as the assistant referees, while Salisu Basheer will act as the fourth official. The wider match-officials team includes Gambian Bakary K. Jammeh as match commissioner and Ivorian Sinko Zeli as referee assessor.

The game will open Medeama’s competitive season and their continental campaign as the Ghana Premier League champions face TP Mazembe at home. The Ghanaian side will seek a positive result against the Congolese club before the second leg, which is scheduled for September 12 in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

TP Mazembe are among Africa’s most decorated clubs, giving the preliminary-round tie a demanding start for Medeama. The Ghanaian champions will have home advantage in the opening match, while Ogabor’s return to a CAF assignment places his past disciplinary case alongside his latest appointment as one of the key talking points before the fixture.