Burundi Forward Handed Heavy Sanctions for Injuring Harambee Stars Goalkeeper
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Burundi forward Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana has received heavy punishment following his lunge on Harambee Stars goalkeeper Brian Bwire during a World Cup qualifier last month.
Harambee Stars beat Burundi 1-0 in Bujumbura on October 9 in their penultimate 2026 World Cup qualifier but they got off to a bad start when Bwire was left in bad shape by Bimenyimana, needing treatment on the pitch before he was stretchered off.
Bimenyimana was shown a straight red card for the lunge into the Polokwane City goalkeeper, who was taken off in pain, and needed a couple of weeks before he returned to action after a five-inch cut above his eye.
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FIFA Extends Bimenyimana’s Ban
Harambee Stars needed a late goal from Ryan Ogam to take all three points as the hosts made their work difficult on an artificial turf at the recently-refurbished Intwari Stadium.
Bimenyimana missed Burundi’s final qualifier against Gabon but any hopes of returning for this month’s friendly games have gone up in smoke after FIFA extended his suspension and also handed him a monetary fine.
The former Kaizer Chiefs striker has seen his ban extended to a total of three games under Article 14.1(e) of the Disciplinary Code, which concerns “Misconduct of players and officials – Unsporting behaviour towards an opponent or a person other than a match official.”
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How Much is the Striker’s Fine?
Further, Bimenyimana has also been slapped with a fine of 5,000 Swiss Francs (Ksh802,265) over the incident.
The striker, who left South African side Kaizer Chiefs two years ago, has played in Libya, Iran as well as Algeria and joined Saudi second tier side Jeddah SC in September 2025, where he has made an encouraging start, scoring four goals in seven matches.
Bujumbura-born Bimenyimana made his Burundi debut in 2017 and has so far earned 24 caps while scoring seven goals.
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