Adamu to appeal FIFA ban

07 February 2011 10:30

Amos Adamu is to take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after FIFA's appeals committee upheld a three-year ban following the Sunday Times investigation into World Cup bidding.

Nigeria's Adamu was a vice-president of FIFA when he was handed the original sanction by the organisation's ethics committee in November last year.

And the appeals committee confirmed at the weekend the punishment would stand, to Adamu's frustration.

He said: "I am extremely disappointed by the findings of the FIFA appeals committee as announced.

"It had been my hope that the appeals committee would completely exonerate me and restore Nigeria's representation on the international football stage. Sadly this has not proved to be the case.

"My next step will be to appeal this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and I am currently taking legal advice in this regard and cannot comment further on this process. I count myself lucky to enjoy the support of my colleagues in Nigeria who have committed to support me in clearing my name."

In addition to Adamu, Reynald Temarii, from Tahiti, also saw his appeal against a one-year ban for breaching FIFA rules thrown out by the appeals committee while three former FIFA ethics committee members Slim Aloulou, Amadou Diakite and Ahongalu Fusimalohi, had their suspensions reduced but the decisions upheld.

Adamu and Temarii were caught out in a sting by Sunday Times investigators who pretended to represent a company seeking to buy votes for the USA's World Cup bid.

Although Adamu became the first FIFA member ever to be banned for seeking bribes, the newspaper's investigation was criticised by ethics committee chairman Claudio Sulser as "sensationalist'', and England 2018 admitted the furore had damaged their bid.

Neither member was permitted to take part in the voting for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, won by Russia and Qatar respectively.

Source: PA