Oceania says ´business as usual´ after FIFA suspensions

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) insisted it was “business as usual” Friday after FIFA suspended two of its top officials over an alleged World Cup vote-selling scandal.

The New Zealand-based confederation confirmed its president Reynald Temarii had stood aside after world football’s governing body provisionally suspended him this week following an expose in a British newspaper.

OFC executive committee member Ahongalu Fusimalohi, the Tonga Football Association general secretary, was also temporarily barred from all footballing activities while FIFA’s ethics committee investigates the allegations.

The OFC said it was prepared to fully cooperate with the FIFA probe and Temarii welcomed the opportunity to present his case to investigators.

“It is business as usual for OFC,” it said in a statement.

The 11-nation confederation said Papua New Guinea’s David Chung was standing in for Temarii.

The Sunday Times alleged it covertly filmed Temarii demanding three million New Zealand dollars (2.3 million US) to set up a sports academy in Auckland in return for his support.

Temarii, a Tahitian who once played for French club FC Nantes, has denied any wrongdoing.

Fusimalohi said Thursday he had no regrets over his actions when undercover journalists approached him last month at an Auckland hotel and offered him a 100,000 US dollar inducement for his vote.

The former journalist said he realised the reporters were not who they said they were and played along to try to find out what they were up to.

“It?s absolute nonsense what these people did and I don?t know what the 100,000 dollars is all about,” he told Radio NZ.

“When they did contact me I lied to them because I wanted to find out who they were.”

The pair were among six officials suspended after FIFA’s ethics committee viewed more than 90 minutes of video recordings obtained by Sunday Times journalists posing as bid lobbyists.