Banned FIFA official Amadou Diakite appeals to CAS
Suspended FIFA official Amadou Diakite has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against his two-year exile from football.
The court said Tuesday it has received Diakite's request to annul his FIFA ban imposed for corruption during the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests.
Hours earlier, British lawmakers released unpublished newspaper material detailing Diakite's alleged role helping undercover reporters bribe FIFA voters.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 football.
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.
Tongan official Ahongalu Fusimalohi has challenged his two-year ban for advising the reporters how to bribe FIFA officials.
CAS has yet to fix dates for the three hearings.
Sport's highest court has not received an appeal from former FIFA vice president Reynald Temarii of Tahiti.
Temarii received a one-year FIFA ban for breaching confidentiality rules, but was cleared of corruption charges. The scandal cost him his 2018 and 2022 votes, and the presidency of the Oceania Football Confederation in January.
Tunisian lawyer Slim Aloulou appears unlikely to challenge his one-year ban arising from the Sunday Times' revelations.
FIFA said Tuesday that Aloulou did not request details of its appeals committee's full ruling on his case, which would form the basis of a challenge to CAS. Aloulou lost his position chairing FIFA's disputes resolution panel.
The sixth suspended official, Ismail Bhamjee of Botswana, accepted his four-year ban imposed by FIFA's ethics panel.
FIFA's ethics court handed Diakite a three-year ban, which was reduced to two on appeal. He also lost his place on FIFA's referees committee.
FIFA chose Russia to host the 2018 World Cup and awarded 2022 rights to Qatar.