Colaco banned by FIFA

Alberto Colaco, the former general secretary of the All India Football Federation, has been banned by FIFA for accepting a bribe.

World football’s governing body confirmed on Thursday that Colaco will be barred from taking part in “any kind of football-related activity at national and international level for a period of three years”.

The ban comes into effect immediately, following a decision taken by the adjudicatory chamber of FIFA’s Ethics Committee, chaired by Hans-Joachim Eckert.

A FIFA statement explained the reasons for Colaco being punished.

It read: “Mr Colaco accepted a payment in the context of the elections for the FIFA Executive Committee at the AFC Congress in May 2009 – won narrowly by Mohamed bin Hammam – while he was serving as the general secretary and voting delegate of the All India Football Federation.

“He was found guilty of violating art. 13 (general rules of conduct), art. 18 (duty of disclosure, cooperation and reporting), art. 19 (conflicts of interest), art. 20 (offering and accepting gifts and other benefits) and art. 21 (bribery and corruption) of the FIFA Code of Ethics.”