Story highlights
World football's governing body FIFA punishes Caribbean officials
Quartet banned after meeting in which cash was allegedly offered for votes
Others were fined, warned and reprimanded for their involvement in May event
Meeting in question involved former FIFA vice-president Mohamed bin Hammam
FIFA has taken action against several Caribbean football officials involved in the meeting that led to former presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam being banned for life.
Hammam, who was to be Sepp Blatter’s only opponent at the June 1 election, had hoped to win votes at the Caribbean Football Union’s meeting on May 10-11.
However, the former Asian Confederation head withdrew from the race after being accused of offering cash to Caribbean delegates and this month lost an opening legal battle to be reinstated.
FIFA’s ethics committee announced on Friday that Franka Pickering of the British Virgin Islands has been banned from all football-related activities for 18 months and fined 500 Swiss francs ($560).
Jamaica’s Horace Burrell was banned for six months, with half of that suspended for a two-year probationary period.
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The committee handed 30-day bans to the Dominican Republic’s Osiris Guzman and Ian Hypolite of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with half of those suspended. They were also fined 300 francs.
Aubrey Liburd of the British Virgin Islands and Hillaren Frederick of its U.S. counterpart were fined the same amount, and reprimanded along with Anthony Johnson of St. Kitts and Nevis.
FIFA handed warnings to David Hinds and Mark Bob Forde of Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago’s Richard Groden, Yves Jean-Bart of Haiti and Jamaica’s Horace Reid.
Felix Ledesma of Dominican Republic was cleared, while the hearing of Guyana’s Noel Adonis was postponed.
David Frederick (Cayman Islands) and Joseph Delves (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) escaped any interrogation as they are no longer football officials.
