Copa Sudamericana

Sports court cuts FIFA ban of World Cup bids inspector

Published Jul. 14, 2017 6:49 a.m. ET

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) The Court of Arbitration for Sport has cleared former 2018-2022 World Cup bids inspector Harold Mayne-Nicholls to return to football duty.

CAS says its panel cut the Chilean official's three-year ban by FIFA to two years on appeal for a conflict of interest in seeking unpaid intern work in Qatar for relatives.

Mayne-Nicholls's ban has expired because it started on July 3, 2015.

The court overturned a charge of unethically accepting benefits, saying two years is the ''appropriate and proportionate penalty.''

In 2010, FIFA appointed Mayne-Nicholls, then president of Chile's soccer federation, to lead a six-member team evaluating the nine World Cup bid candidates. Qatar won the 2022 contest.

Mayne-Nicholls was a potential FIFA presidential election contender when his ethics case was opened in 2014.

Get more from Copa Sudamericana Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Copa Sudamericana

FIFA Men's World Cup

FA Cup