FIFA bans Nepal football chief for graft

FIFA on Monday banned Nepal’s football chief for 10 years and the president of the Laos federation for two years for bribery.

The decade-long sanction against Ganesh Thapa, president of the All-Nepal Football Association, was a new blow to the country’s football image after several national players were accused of match-fixing.

Thapa stood down as a football chief one year ago amid an investigation into accusations that he embezzled millions of dollars during his 19-year tenure. Thapa “committed various acts of misconduct over several years, including the solicitation and acceptance of cash payments from another football official, for both personal and family gain,” said a FIFA statement without giving details.

FIFA’s ethics committee said Thapa had specifically been bribed over elections for the FIFA executive committee in 2009 and 2011.