ZURICH: The ‘fit and proper persons’ check put in place by FIFA during the reform process has been proven to have teeth after a three-year ban on a former member of the world federation’s disciplinary panel writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

A statement from the world federation said that Edmond Bowen, former president of the New Caledonia Football Association, “did not fill out the mandatory declaration of integrity truthfully when bidding to be elected as a member of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.”

Thus he had breached a rules of conduct clause in the code of ethics which insists that everyone in the world federation is “obliged to respect all applicable laws.”

Media reports in the Oceania region have reported that Bowen received a one-year prison sentence in 2010 and was involved in bankruptcy proceedings. However, the following year he was cleared to stand for federation election.

In 2013, at FIFA congress in Mauritius, Bowen was among a group of nominees elected to serve on the disciplinary committee.

Bowen is the second official suspended recently by FIFA’s ethics system. Last week Ganesh Thapa, president of the All Nepal Football Association, was banned for 120 days after allegations of misconduct in office.

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