His two assistants, Jamaica's Anthony Garwood and Joseph Taylor of Trinidad and Tobago will also miss the tournament, the world governing body said.

Earlier this month, Italian Football Federation (FIGC) withdrew their referee, Massimo de Santis, from the World Cup after being implicated in a match-fixing scandal.

Egyptian referee Essam Abdel-Fattah, along with his assistants Mali's Dante Dramane and Mamadou Ndoye of Senegal, in addition of Benin's referee Coffi Codjia will represent Africa in the WC.