ZURICH (AP) — FIFA says Niger referee Ibrahim Chaibou is free to officiate matches while it investigates his handling of an international exhibition between Nigeria and Argentina last week that is suspected of being manipulated.
World soccer’s governing body says “no provisional suspension can be pronounced” on Chaibou because formal disciplinary proceedings have not been opened.
Chaibou awarded Argentina a penalty for handball in the eighth minute of injury time in the team’s 4-1 loss in Nigeria.
FIFA is studying betting patterns during the match as part of a “a wider, ongoing” investigation.
Chaibou was the referee when Bahrain beat a fake Togo team last September. In May 2010, he gave three penalties for handballs in South Africa’s 5-0 win over Guatemala.
