No Mercy: FIFA extends ban on Ghanaian Mark Edusei

Former Ghana youth international, Mark Edusei has had a three and half year ban imposed on him by the disciplinary committee of Italian Football governing body, GIFC on May 28 confirmed and upheld by FIFA who released a press statement on Monday to the effect extending the ban to apply worldwide.

The now 37 year old Edusei who featured prominently for the Black Starlets in the run-up to the second place finish at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Japan 1993, was banned for a role in match-fixing during his time at Bari in Italy's Serie B back in 2009.

Edusei who also previously played for Hapoel Tikva in Israel as far back as the 1996/97 season, also played for several clubs in Italy including Sampdoria, Catania, Torino and last played for Bellinzona in Switzerland, a club that folded up and went into bankruptcy in 2013, incredibly getting sent off in his last ever game in a 3-1 loss at Servette on 31st May, 2011.

Now it appears the man who won ten senior Ghana caps cannot return to the pitch again after all

We reproduce below the FIFA Press Release in full:

 
Media Release: Worldwide sanctions imposed on players from Ghana, Malta

FIFA can today confirm the extension of sanctions imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the Italian Football Association (FIGC)   in relation to match manipulation. 

On 28 May 2014, CAS banned Maltese player Kevin Sammut from all football-related activities for a period of ten years following proceedings conducted by UEFA disciplinary bodies in relation to the manipulation of a qualifying match for the UEFA European Football Championship in 2007.

On 7 May 2014, the disciplinary committee of the FIGC banned Ghanaian player Mark Edusei from all football-related activities for three years and six months in relation to the manipulation of a match in the Italian  Serie B  in 2009.

In the above cases, the chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the sanctions to have worldwide effect in accordance with article 78 paragraph 1(c) and article 136ff. of the  FIFA Disciplinary Code . The decisions by the chairman have been duly notified to the respective confederations and member associations today.

FIFA continues to work closely with its member associations and the confederations to tackle match manipulation. As part of a ten-year programme of collaboration with INTERPOL, regional workshops involving key stakeholders are being held all over the world while  e-learning programmes  are also helping to educate players, coaches and referees on the dangers of match manipulation to help them to avoid becoming victims of this threat to football integrity.

Other initiatives include the signing of an  integrity declaration  by officials, the monitoring of the betting market via FIFA's subsidiary  Early Warning System (EWS)  and the setting up of an e-learning  ethics tool , an  integrity hotline and e-mail address  and a  confidential reporting system .