FIFA ethics body wants 2-year ban for Niersbach

ZURICH: Former German football association (DFB) chief Wolfgang Niersbach faces a possible two-year ban from the game following an investigation by FIFA into alleged irregularities over the awarding of the 2006 World Cup.

Niersbach, who still sits on the world football body’s Council as well as Europe’s UEFA Executive Committee, resigned from the DFB presidency in November after he was unable to explain a 6.7 million euro ($7.52 million) payment from the German World Cup organisers to FIFA.

On Friday a report from the investigatory chamber of FIFA’s ethics committee found Niersbach had violated its ethics code and recommended he be banned for two years from all football-related activity and fined 30,000 Swiss francs ($30,300.