ZURICH: Former World Cup bid inspector Harold
Mayne-Nicholls's ban from football has been cut from seven years to
three on appeal, FIFA said on Friday.
Chilean Mayne-Nicholls was suspended in July after FIFA's
ethics committee said he repeatedly asked for personal favours from one
of the countries that bid to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
The decisions to award the tournaments to Russia and Qatar
respectively, both taken in December 2010 at the same event in Zurich,
have been embroiled in controversy and been a big element in a rash of
scandals plaguing international football.
FIFA's appeal committee said it agreed with "with the principles and
arguments" presented by the ethics committee in deciding the ban on
Mayne-Nicholls, a former head of the Chilean football federation.
However, the appeal committee "deemed that the sanction imposed was not proportionate to the breaches committed."
A fine of 20,000 Swiss francs (US$20,500) was maintained.
Internal FIFA documents seen by Reuters at the time suggested that
the investigation had concerned a request made to Mayne-Nicholls to an
official at the Qatar-based Aspire Academy.
Mayne-Nicholls compiled a technical report after leading visits to
all countries bidding to host the two tournaments. England,
Spain/Portugal, Netherlands/Belgium and Russia bid to stage the 2018
World Cup while the United States, Australia, Qatar, South Korea and
Japan were the candidates for 2022.
His report questioned Qatar's suitability for the competition due to
the small Gulf country's searing heat and logistical issues raised by
hosting the tournament in one city, its capital Doha.
The appeal committee also confirmed a 10-year ban and 20,000
Swiss francs fine on Ganesh Thapa, president of the All-Nepal Football
Association (ANFA), who was found guilty in November of a number of
ethics violations including bribery.
However, it back-dated the start of the ban to April last
year rather than November as Thapa had stepped down from his position
during the investigations.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
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