Markus Kattner, a former leading official in the Zurich organization has been banned by (Reuters) – Soccer’s world governing body FIFA for 10 years and has fined him one million Swiss francs ($1.06 million) after a probe into bonus payments.
FIFA stated in a statement on Tuesday that ”the adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has found Markus Kattner, former FIFA Deputy Secretary-General and Acting Secretary-General, guilty of conflicts of interest and having abused his position, in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics”.
While investigating into Mr. Kattner covered various charges concerning bonus payments in relation to FIFA competitions that were paid to top FIFA management officials (including Mr. Kattner), various amendments to and extensions of employment contracts, reimbursement of private legal costs, and Mr. Kattner’s duties as an official.”
In June 2016, FIFA said that an internal investigation revealed that Mr. Kattner, the FIFA’s former Secretary General Jerome Valcke, and the organization’s ex-President Sepp Blatter had received 79 million Swiss francs ($81 million) in compensation over five years, calling them ‘massive payouts’.
Blatter, who led FIFA from 1998 until 2015, was banned from football for six years in February 2016, while Valcke has been banned until 2028.
The 45-year-old Kattner, who holds German and Swiss citizenship, joined FIFA as Director of Finance in 2003 and four years later became Deputy Secretary-General.
Mr. Kattner became Acting Secretary-General in September 2015, after the departure of Valcke, but was fired in May 2016. According to the Ethics Committee’s final judgment, Kattner argued the ethics process against him had not been fair and that he did not grant any bonus payments either to himself or to anyone else in the top management.
The official can appeal the FIFA ban to the Court of Arbitration of Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
