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Former
FIFA and CAF executive member, Amos Adamu, will have to decide his next
move in the days ahead, as the FIFA Appeals Committee upheld the
decision to ban him from all football related matters. The ban had been
announced on November 17, 2010. But this might not be the end of the
matter as Adamu and four other officials, who were also sanction by the
FIFA Ethics Committee last year, can contest the ruling of the Appeals
Committee at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is empowered to
annul the verdicts of the Appeals Committee.

Football’s world
governing body, FIFA, on Friday announced the result of the appeals by
five of its officials suspended for breaching the FIFA Code of Ethics
in relation to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosting rights.

The statement on
fifa website read: “The FIFA Appeal Committee, under the chairmanship
of Judge Larry Mussenden (Bermuda), has confirmed the decisions taken
by the Ethics Committee on 17 November 2010 regarding the bans on
Reynald Temarii and Amos Adamu. (cf. media release:
http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/bodies/media/newsid=1336779.html)
regarding the bans on Reynald Temarii and Amos Adamu – who were at the
time FIFA Vice-President and FIFA Executive Committee member – for a
breach of the FIFA Code of Ethics. In addition, the Appeal Committee
has partially upheld the appeals of Slim Aloulou, Amadou Diakité and
Ahongalu Fusimalohi, whose sanctions have been reduced.

The decisions,
which were taken during a two-day meeting of the Appeal Committee held
in Zurich on 2 and 3 February 2011, are as follows:

Reynald Temarii:
the appeal has been rejected and the decision of the FIFA Ethics
Committee confirmed. The sanction of a one-year ban from taking part in
any football-related activity and a fine of CHF 5,000 has been
maintained.

Amos Adamu: the
appeal has been rejected and the decision of the FIFA Ethics Committee
confirmed. The sanction of a three-year ban from taking part in any
football-related activity and a fine of CHF 10,000 has been maintained.

Slim Aloulou: the
appeal has been partially upheld. The infringements as stipulated in
the decision of the FIFA Ethics Committee have been confirmed. The
sanctions have been reduced to a one-year ban from taking part in any
football-related activity (instead of a two-year ban) and a fine of CHF
5,000 (instead of CHF 10,000).

Amadou Diakité: the
appeal has been partially upheld. The infringements as stipulated in
the decision of the FIFA Ethics Committee have been confirmed. The
sanctions have been reduced to a two-year ban from taking part in any
football-related activity (instead of a three-year ban) and a fine of
CHF 7,500 (instead of CHF 10,000).

Ahongalu Fusimalohi: the appeal has been partially upheld.

The infringements
as stipulated in the decision of the FIFA Ethics Committee have been
confirmed. The sanctions have been reduced to a two-year ban from
taking part in any football-related activity (instead of a three-year
ban) and a fine of CHF 7,500 (instead of CHF 10,000).

Galadima free to contest

This announcement
now leaves the coast free for former NFA Chairman, Ibrahim Galadima, to
contest a position into the FIFA executive committee during the annual
assembly of Africa’s football governing body, CAF, scheduled for
Khartoum, Sudan on February 23.

It is during the
CAF assembly that delegates will get to choose two of Africa’s four
representatives on FIFA’s Executive Committee, and Adamu, who was
listed as a candidate pending the outcome of his appeal, will now be
replaced.

The intrigues behind the appeal

The hearing,
chaired by Bermuda Football Association president Larry Mussenden, was
initially billed to last for two days, culminating in a verdict on
Thursday which did not come to pass. Even Adamu, in an interview with
the BBC, said he expected an acquittal by the end of work on Thursday.

“I don’t want to
say too much about the appeal but I know I’ll get a fair hearing,”
Adamu said, before adding: “It is important that I clear my name in
this matter and I believe that will be done at the meeting.”

Reports had emerged on Thursday suggesting that the outcome of the committee’s hearing will be delayed for two weeks.

According to the
reports, Temarii, who until his suspension in November, was the
president of the Oceania football governing body, had told media
outfit, Fairfax Media that FIFA will take more than two weeks to
announce the outcome of the hearing.

Back in January, he
had informed Fairfax Media that FIFA had formally written to him
informing him that he had been cleared of all corruption charges. After
hearing commenced on the appeal, Temarii had said that Mussenden had
through a personal email warned him not to expect anything until
February 18.

Stories out of
Zurich had it that FIFA’s Appeals Committee were divided over the fate
of the three Africans – Adamu, Aloulou and Diakite – which could
actually be a reason why the committee failed to emerge with a verdict
on Thursday as earlier scheduled.

A bribe to cover up a bribe?

Money was said to
have been offered to members of the Appeals Committee by an unnamed
official from the African football body supposedly on behalf of the
Africans and with a promise that Africa will vote for Blatter at FIFA’s
upcoming election in June.

There were also
reports of disagreement among committee members as some refused to
accept the alleged bribe, a situation that led to a German radio
station, Deutschlandradio Kultur, to describe the committee as being
“partially occupied by dubious characters” probably because some of its
members were reportedly handpicked from such countries as Guam, the
Solomon Islands and Belize.

The station also
made reference to the visit of the boss of the Nigerian Football
Federation (NFF) Aminu Maigari and the acting secretary general Musa
Amadu to FIFA’s headquarters, saying the visit more than a mere
courtesy call on FIFA president, Joseph Blatter.

Amadu was however
quick to deny that the visit was in connection with Adamu’s appeal. He
had gone to Zurich with Maigari over Nigeria’s desire for more FIFA
goal projects.

“It is important to put the facts straight. We are not here to be by the side of Adamu,” Amadu said.

“It happened that our visit coincided with Adamu’s appeal that was being heard at the FIFA Headquarters.

“Remember that we
had long sought for a meeting with the FIFA President. Originally, we
got an appointment for January 26, but we were eventually alerted that
Blatter would be otherwise engaged and another date had to be worked
out. That was how it came to be Thursday, February 3, the day of
Adamu’s appeal hearing.”

The Hayatou angle

A recent statement
by CAF president, Issa Hayatou declaring Africa’s support for Blatter’s
bid to seek another term in office come June this year may be linked to
the postponement of the appeal judgement till Friday evening.

Hayatou, who fought
a bitter contest against Blatter for the FIFA presidency back in 2002,
told the media in Khartoum that “I will never (again) contest the FIFA
presidency because I am happy with the way things are moving now.” He
then added: “We (CAF) are working hand in hand with Blatter and
everything is moving on well, without serious issues.”

The other seat up
for grabs is that of Cote d’Ivoire’s Jacques Anouma, who is also
standing for re-election. He, as well as Galadima, will be up against
Danny Jordaan of South Africa, former African Footballer of the Year
Kalusha Bwalya of Zambia, Mohamed Raouraoua of Algeria and Suketu Patel
from the Seychelles.

It would have been possible for CAF to elect a replacement to finish
Adamu’s term immediately after his three years suspension, in line with
Article 22(12) of the CAF Statutes. But Hayatou, a long-time ally of
Adamu, opted to leave the position vacant pending the outcome of
Adamu’s appeal.