/ 13 March 2012

Former Fifa officials miss out on corruption appeal

Former Fifa executive committee members Amadou Diakite and Ahongalu Fusimalohi lost their appeals on Monday against two-year bans for corrupt behaviour during bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Fifa said it was “satisfied” by the Court of Arbitration for Sport verdicts, which upheld rulings by its appeals committee.

“The confirmation of these Fifa decisions by CAS underlines once more Fifa’s zero tolerance and clear stance against any breach of the Fifa Code of Ethics,” football’s world governing body said in a statement.

The Lausanne-based court confirmed the verdicts and said it would likely publish more details on the cases this week.

Diakite and Fusimalohi were suspended by Fifa from all football duty through October 2012 based on evidence provided by British newspaper The Sunday Times. Fifa also ordered them to pay fines of $8 160.

They advised undercover reporters posing as lobbyists how to bribe Fifa officials with $1-million. At the time they were no longer members of Fifa’s ruling executive committee that chose World Cup host nations.

The newspaper’s reports published in October 2010 threw bidding for the 2018 and 2022 hosting contests into turmoil weeks before the vote.

Bribery scandal
Diakite, from Mali, was removed from Fifa’s referees committee and Fusimalohi lost his job as chief executive of Tonga’s football association. Fusimalohi then worked as an adviser to Tonga Prime Minister Lord Tu’ivakano.

The two officials were among six sanctioned by Fifa in the bribery scandal.

Amos Adamu of Nigeria lost his appeal at CAS last month against a three-year ban from football for actively seeking bribes of $800 000 from the undercover reporters.

The CAS panel of three arbitrators judging Adamu’s case said the Nigerian’s ban “was even relatively mild given the seriousness of the offense”.

Adamu was excluded from the World Cup balloting and lost his seat representing Africa on the Fifa executive committee.

Tunisian lawyer Slim Aloulou also offered advice to the reporters. He served a one-year ban and lost his position chairing Fifa’s disputes resolution panel.

Ismail Bhamjee of Botswana got a four-year ban, four years after he was removed from the executive committee for scalping tickets at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The Sunday Times investigation also resulted in then-Fifa vice-president Reynald Temarii of Tahiti serving a one-year ban for breaking confidentiality rules. — Sapa-AP