MONTEVIDEO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Uruguay handed six-month bans to five of its top referees on Wednesday including Jorge Larrionda, who only two days earlier was named by FIFA to officiate at this year's World Cup finals.
Five more referee's were warned but not suspended, Matias Vazquez, president of the Uruguayan Football Association's (AUF) School of Referees, told Reuters.
Vazquez said FIFA would be informed of the ban and that soccer's world governing body would routinely be expected to endorse it, causing Larrionda to miss the tournament.
The bans were announced after a controversial three-month investigation by the AUF into alleged irregularities.
Critics said the AUF had not made it clear what the irregularities were. Media reports speculated the investigations were sparked by claims made by other referees.
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