KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTS: One of the first African football officials to come out publicly in favour of Gianni Infantino’s bid for the FIFA presidency has been banned from football 10 years and fined 500,000 Swiss francs.
Chabour Goc Alei was president of the youthful federation of South Sudan – founded only in 2011 – when he supported Infantino’s pursuit of the leadership of the world federation in the spring of 2016.
However his ‘enthusiasm’ for power, according to the FIFA ethics committee, led him to overstep the mark by a considerable distance and thus he has been found guilty of playing fast and loose with grants from Zurich.
An ethics committee statement said: “The adjudicatory chamber of the independent ethics committee has found Mr Chabour Goc Alei guilty of having misappropriated FIFA’s funds as well as having offered gifts or benefits in violation of the FIFA code of ethics.”
Chabour Goc Alei is one of a steady stream of African officials punished in recent years by FIFA:
* In December 2016 ex-South Africa FA president Kirsten Nematandani was banned for five years in connection with the notorious matchfix scandal in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup.
* In August 2018 Kalusha Bwalya, once one of Africa’s most outstanding players and a CAF exco member, was handed what proved a short-term ban over his acceptance of a payment from disgraced Qatari Mohammed bin Hammam;
* In October 2018 Kwesi Nyantakyi, Ghana FA president and CAF vice-president, was banned for life over matchfixing and bribery allegations;
* In February this year Boniface Mwamelo, former treasurer and vice-president of the Football Association of Zambia, was banned for life for accepting bribes;
* Also in February Sidio Jose Mugadza, an official of the Mozambique FA, was banned for 15 years for bribery;
FIFA Ethics statement:
The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has found Mr Chabour Goc Alei, the former President of the South Sudan Football Association (SSFA) and a former FIFA standing committee member, guilty of having misappropriated FIFA funds, as well as having offered gifts or benefits, in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics.
The investigation into Mr Alei was related to the misappropriation of FIFA Financial Assistance Programme (FAP) and FIFA Goal Programme funds received by the SSFA during the 2014 and 2015 period, and to various payments made (from such funds) to football officials and other individuals.
In its decision, the adjudicatory chamber found that Mr Alei had breached art. 28 (Misappropriation of funds) and art. 20 (Offering and accepting gifts or other benefits) of the 2018 edition of the FIFA Code of Ethics, and banned him from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level for a period of ten years. In addition, a fine in the amount of CHF 500,000 has been imposed upon him.
The decision was notified to Mr Alei today, the date on which the ban comes into force.
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