Former African football boss Issa Hayatou has won his appeal over a one-year ban imposed for a breach of FIFA’s code of ethics. The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced its ruling in the 75-year-old’s favour on Saturday, de-claring there was “insufficient evidence” to support FIFA’s allegations of commercial malpractice.
Hayatou’s ban was lifted on the eve of the Af-rica Cup of Nations final staged in his native Cam-eroon. FIFA had sanctioned him last year over his role in a controversial $1 billion TV and marketing rights deal with France’s Lagardere Sports. The deal, signed in 2015, gave exclusive rights to Lagardere of CAF-run competitions for 12 years from 2017 to 2028. Hayatou was president of the Confederation of African Football for 29 years before being ousted by Ahmad Ahmad in a 2017 election.
He served as interim FIFA boss for a short spell following the suspension of Sepp Blatter and before the election of Gianni Infantino in February 2016.—APP
