FIFA on Monday banned the president of the Laos federation for two years while Nepal’s football chief was given ten years suspension. The decisions were made based on investigations carried out by the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee under the chairmanship of Dr Cornel BorbĂ©ly.
Viphet Sihachakr , the president of the Laos Football Federation (LFF) was banned for two years after he “solicited and accepted a payment from another football official” around 2011 elections for the FIFA executive.
Sihachakr was fined 40,000 Swiss francs (USD 39,700).
The decade-long sanction against Ganesh Thapa, president of the All-Nepal Football Association, was a new blow to the country’s football image after several national players were accused of match-fixing.
Thapa stood down as a football chief one year ago amid an investigation into accusations that he embezzled millions of dollars during his 19-year tenure.
Thapa “committed various acts of misconduct over several years, including the solicitation and acceptance of cash payments from another football official, for both personal and family gain,” said a FIFA statement without giving details.
FIFA’s ethics committee said Thapa had specifically been bribed over elections for the FIFA executive committee in 2009 and 2011.
On top of the ban, he was fined 20,000 Swiss francs ($19,850) by the ethics committee’s adjudicatory chamber.
Nepal’s national team captain, Sagar Thapa, and four other players have been charged with treason over alleged match-fixing in World Cup qualifiers. Prosecutors have sought life jail terms for the five who have denied the charges. – Agence France-Presse
