FIFA bans African soccer official for taking Bin Hammam cash

ZURICH (AP) — FIFA ethics judges have imposed a four-year ban on African soccer official Seedy Kinteh for taking cash gifts from former FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar.

FIFA says its ethics committee found Kinteh guilty on charges of bribery and corruption, and accepting gifts. He was fined 200,000 Swiss francs ($202,000).

Kinteh was named in a 2014 investigation report by FIFA's then-ethics prosecutor Michael Garcia for taking payments totaling $69,396 from Bin Hammam from February 2010 to April 2011.

Then, Kinteh was president of Gambia's soccer federation and Bin Hammam was a potential then actual candidate for the FIFA presidency.

Bin Hammam was suspended in 2011 days before the election against then-president Sepp Blatter after being implicated in bribing Caribbean voters.