ZURICH (AP) – FIFA has banned former vice president Reynald Temarii for eight years for taking Qatari powerbroker Mohamed bin Hammam’s money to pay legal costs in a corruption case linked to the 2022 World Cup vote.
FIFA says its ethics committee ruled that Temarii accepting 305,640 euros ($343,000) from Bin Hammam in January 2011, breaching five sections of its ethics code.
Temarii was then appealing a one-year suspension by FIFA which barred him from voting in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup contests, won by Russia and Qatar, respectively.
FIFA had judged Temarii guilty of breaking confidentiality and loyalty rules by discussing the World Cup votes with undercover reporters from The Sunday Times.
The official from Tahiti was then president of the Oceania Football Confederation.