Fifa ban, fine ex-co members for corruption

Fifa executive committee members Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii were banned from all soccer activities and fined on Thursday after an investigation into allegations that they had offered to sell their votes ahead of the decision for World Cup 2018 and 2022 hosting rights.

However, a further claim from the British newspaper the Sunday Times that some bidding countries were guilty of collusion before the December 2 vote in Zurich was dismissed by the sport's governing body's ethics committee.

Nigerian Adamu was banned for three years and Temarii of Tahiti one by Fifa.

Adamu and Tahiti had both been provisionally suspended following the allegations that they offered to sell their votes to undercover reporters posing as lobbyists for an American consortium.

The allegations have 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.