Nigeria´s anti-graft police probes FIFA official

Nigeria’s anti corruption agency said Tuesday it is probing the nation’s top football official who is being investigated by FIFA over vote-for-cash allegations in the 2018 World Cup bidding.

“What we are interested in is the allegation of bribery levied against Amos Adamu,” spokesman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Femi Babafemi told AFP.

Adamu and Reynald Temarii, Oceania Football Conference president, are to appear before the world football governing body’s ethics committee meeting on Wednesday in Zurich over allegations they solicited bribes to sell their votes in the bidding contest.

The money allegedly requested by Adamu was to pay for four artificial football pitches in Nigeria, but he had said it should be paid to him personally.

“The allegation against him was that he demanded the bribe to build pitches in Nigeria. It impinges on the image of the country and that is why we are interested in investigating it,” said Babafemi.

A British newspaper had on Sunday reported that Adamu and Temarii, who are members of FIFA’s executive committee, had offered to sell their votes in the bidding race for the 2018 World Cup to undercover journalists posing as lobbyists.

Temarii insists he is innocent and has vowed to clear his name.

He claims he was quoted out of context in the newspaper expose, the website insideworldfootball.biz reported.

Football’s governing body also said that the ethics committee would investigate any agreements between member associations, warning that they could be a clear violation of the bidding rules for the World Cup.

England, Russia, and joint bids by Spain-Portugal and Netherlands-Belgium are in the running to host the 2018 World Cup.