The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected an appeal by Liberian Musa Hassan Bility "to be allowed to stand in February's election for the presidency" of FIFA, according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS.
Bility, head of the Liberian FA, "had appealed a decision in November by FIFA's Ad hoc Electoral Committee to rule him out on integrity grounds." The Lausanne-based court said in a statement after an expedited hearing, "The CAS has dismissed the appeal and upheld the FIFA AEC Decision."
The CAS said that "a hearing with the parties involved had been held on Dec. 23." It said that "the full reasoning for the dismissal of the appeal would be issued in early 2016" (REUTERS, 12/31).
DOJ SETBACK: REUTERS' Mica Rosenberg wrote a little-known criminal case in Uruguay "is hindering U.S. efforts to prosecute a top official charged in the wide-reaching investigation into corruption" at FIFA.
In "an unexpected turn of events," Swiss authorities on Christmas Eve extradited former FIFA VP Eugenio Figueredo to his native Uruguay instead of to the U.S.
The ruling "is a setback for the U.S. Department of Justice, who had requested Figueredo's extradition to New York to face a series of charges, including racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering." Figueredo's attorneys "successfully argued to Swiss justice officials that an earlier 2013 Uruguayan case pending against him should take precedence over the U.S. case." In Uruguay "he is accused of fraud and money laundering, according to a preliminary order issued by a judge on Dec. 24." Those charges "could carry jail sentences of more than two years" (REUTERS, 12/30).
GFA VOTE: GHANA WEB reported the Ghana FA said that "it will vote for a FIFA Presidential candidate who promises an increase in the number of slots of African teams at the World Cup and an enhancement of financial support."
At least three candidates "vying for the FIFA top job are expected in Accra to lobby delegates during the WAFU Zone B General Assembly on January 12."
CAF "is yet to declare its support as a block for any of the candidates" (GHANA WEB, 1/2).
