Amos Adamu loses appeal to FIFA

FIFA official Amos Adamu's three-year ban for seeking bribes during the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding races was upheld Friday by the governing body's appeals committee.

FIFA executive committee colleague Reynald Temarii also lost his appeal of a one-year ban for breaking FIFA confidentiality rules.

FIFA's appeals panel partially upheld appeals by three former executive committee members who had their bans from all soccer duty reduced by one year each. The appeal committee announced verdicts after hearing all five cases at FIFA headquarters on Wednesday and Thursday.

All the verdicts can be challenged at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Adamu, a former Nigerian government sports minister, is the most senior FIFA official sanctioned for bribery. The appeals body confirmed a FIFA ethics committee ruling that Adamu sought payments from British undercover reporters who posed as lobbyists.

The Sunday Times published edited video in October showing Adamu asking for $800,000 paid directly to him to build four soccer fields in his native Nigeria. He said this could influence how he voted in the Dec. 2 elections.

Temarii was secretly filmed appearing to suggest he could receive $2.3 million to fund a soccer academy in Auckland, New Zealand.

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However, FIFA's ethics court cleared him of acting corruptly though suspended the Tahitian official for breaking confidentiality and loyalty rules by speaking to the reporters.

The revelations in October rocked FIFA and the World Cup bidding process less than two months before the hosts were chosen.

After Adamu, 58, and Temarii, 43 were suspended by FIFA's ethics court in November, a 22-man executive committee chose Russia to host the 2018 World Cup and Qatar in 2022.

Three former members of FIFA's high command were suspended after advising the reporters how to bribe FIFA officials and to pay $1 million.

 
Aloulou, a Tunisian lawyer, was one of the most senior figures in FIFA legal structure. He chaired the disputes resolution panel. The ruling Friday means he must serve a one-year ban instead of two.

FIFA referees committee member Diakite, of Mali, and Fusimalohi, chief executive of the Tonga federation, were each initially suspended for three years but will serve two.

A sixth official, Ismail Bhamjee of Botswana, did not appeal his four-year ban.