August 28 – Lee Harmon, the former President of the Cook Islands Football Association (CIFA), remains banned from the game after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed his appeal.
Found guilty of breaching the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Code of Ethics on multiple counts, Harmon was banned for five years in August 2021 and fined a sum of NZ$50,000 ($31,180).
On Tuesday CAS rejected his appeal against the OFC committee. The breaches were for breaking the general rules of conduct, offering and accepting gifts, and bribery and corruption.
Harmon will remain banned and can only return once the fine is paid.
In a statement, the OFC wrote: “The ban on Mr Harmon shall continue to apply past its date of expiry until the above fine and the costs are paid in full to OFC.
“As a result of the above mentioned decision, FIFA have extended the ban imposed on Mr Harmon to have effect worldwide across all football-related activities. This ban will remain in place for the period imposed by the OFC Appeal Committee and continue to apply until the fine and costs are paid in full.”
“Following the dismissal of Mr Harmon’s appeal by CAS, the above OFC Appeal Committee decision is considered final and binding.”
In 2019, the FIFA Ethics Committee suspended Harmon, then a member of the FIFA Council, for three months and fined him $20,000 for the resale of 2018 World Cup tickets.
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