Banned FIFA official will appeal to court

Associated Press

LAUSANNE, Switzerland

Suspended FIFA official Amadou Diakite has appealed his two-year ban from soccer to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The court said Tuesday it had received Diakite’s request to overturn the ban FIFA imposed for corruption during the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests.

Hours earlier, British lawmakers released unpublished material from a newspaper detailing Diakite’s alleged role helping undercover reporters bribe FIFA voters.

Diakite is alleged to have told reporters posing as bid lobbyists that Qatar 2022 officials offered $1 million payments to FIFA leaders from Africa. The fresh claim was made in a Sunday Times statement to a British Parliamentary inquiry into soccer.

The Malian official is the third former FIFA executive committee member to appeal to CAS among six who were suspended by FIFA’s ethics court last November.

Amos Adamu of Nigeria appealed last week to overturn his three-year ban for soliciting bribes. He was suspended before the World Cup vote and later lost his place representing Africa on FIFA’s 24-member ruling panel.