Fifa has banned Obert Zhoya, the former secretary general of the Zimbabwe Football Association’s referees committee, from all football-related activities for five years after finding him guilty of sexually harassing three female officials. Zhoya was also fined 20,000 Swiss francs (£17,600) following an investigation by Fifa’s independent ethics committee.
The ban comes after one alleged victim told the Guardian she had been “humiliated, intimidated and degraded” by Zhoya, claiming she received a series of WhatsApp messages from him asking her to spend the night with him in a hotel. The adjudicatory chamber of the ethics committee stated that Zhoya had breached articles 23 (Protection of physical and mental integrity), 25 (Abuse of position), and 13 (General duties) of the Code of Ethics.
Allegations of sexual harassment against Zhoya were first reported by local media in Zimbabwe in September 2020, but a formal investigation only began after the alleged victims reported the claims to police in December 2021. The allegations were also sent to Fifa, the Confederation of African Football (Caf), and the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations in November 2020.
Joyce Cook, Fifa’s chief social responsibility and education officer, said Fifa initially referred the allegations to Caf for three months because it “did not have the competence to investigate and judge such conducts”. One alleged victim wrote to Zifa expressing concern that her complaints were not being taken seriously, stating she had evidence in the form of phone call voice recordings.
