Soccer:Fifa executive committee members Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii have been suspended from all football-related activity for three years and one year respectively in relation to allegations of corruption regarding World Cup votes.
The pair were implicated in a Sunday Timesinvestigation which accused the duo of accepting money in return for their vote in the bidding for the World Cup, with reporters from the newspaper posing as representatives of the United States' 2022 World Cup bid.
Adamu has already indicated his intention to appeal against the verdict delivered today by the chairman of Fifa's ethics committee Claudio Sulser.
Adamu was fined €7,418 (10,000 Swiss francs) and Temarii €3,709 (5,000 Swiss francs) as part of the sanction against them. Adamu pre-empted the announcement by releasing a statement before the findings had been revealed indicating his intention to fight them.
"I am profoundly disappointed with the Ethics Committee's findings and had honestly believed I would be exonerated of any charges by now,” said Adamu. "I am innocent of all the charges levelled against me by the Ethics Committee and I completely refute the decision they have made.
"As yet I have not been advised of the grounds of the Ethics Committee's decision but regardless, I will be lodging a full appeal against it with immediate effect."
Adamu and Tahiti had both been provisionally suspended following the allegations, which cast a shadow over the race to host the two World Cup tournaments.
Russia and England are bidding to host the 2018 World Cup along with joint bids from Spain/Portugal and Belgium/Netherlands. Japan, South Korea, Australia, United States and Qatar are candidates for 2022.
Only the 24 executive committee members are entitled to vote but Fifa president Sepp Blatter has said that the vote would go ahead with only 22 or 23 if either Adamu or Temarii were barred.
In a separate investigation, the ethics committee found insufficient evidence of collusion between the bid teams of Spain-Portugal 2018 and Qatar 2022.
The Fifa ethics committee had also been conducting an investigation into allegations that the two bid teams had been colluding to trade votes, against bidding regulations.
However, it was announced the committee "did not find sufficient grounds to reach a conclusion that there was any collusion".
The ethics committee also issued suspensions to four other Fifa officials implicated in the Sunday Timesinvestigation, all of whom are former executive committee members.
Ismael Bhamjee of Botswana was handed a four-year ban from all football-related activity, while Amadou Diakite of Mali and Ahongalu Fusimalohi of Tonga were suspended for three years and Tunisian official Slim Aloulou for two. All four were also fined €7,418 (10,000 Swiss francs).