FIFA has given the former head of the Afghanistan Football Federation a lifetime ban from football-related activities after allegations he sexually abused female players.
The governing body of world football also fined Keramuddin Karim 1 million Swiss francs (about $1 million) after FIFA said its investigation found he was “guilty of having abused his position and sexually abused various female players, in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics.”
CNN is seeking comment from Karim about the ban.
Karim was previously suspended for 180 days as FIFA investigated the claims of abuse between 2013 and 2018.
Karim has not faced any criminal charges.
In December, former Afghan player Khalida Popal told CNN some of the abuse took place during a seven-day training camp in Jordan at the end of January last year.
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Popal, who was forced to flee Afghanistan and now lives in Denmark, was at a training camp and said at least five women were abused in their rooms by two male officials who had been sent by the AFF to accompany the players.
Apart from Popal, other players have spoken only anonymously, saying they fear for their safety and that of their families.
In a statement released at the time of the allegations, the AFF said it “vigorously rejects” the allegations and said it had a “zero tolerance approach” to abuse. It said the allegations were being driven by “former employees.”
Saturday, it posted a story about the FIFA ban on its Facebook page. The federation didn’t comment.
The current president of the Afghanistan federation is Mohammad Kargar, according to FIFA’s website.
CNN’s Leona Siaw and Aleks Klosok contributed to this rerort.
