FIFA fines Spanish FA president Villar Llona

AngelMariaVillarllona - Cropped

Angel Maria Villar Llona, vice-president of FIFA and president of the Spanish Football Association, has been fined 25,000 CHF (Swiss Francs) and warned by the world game's governing body for not co-operating with the investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process.

The news was confirmed on Friday in a statement released by the adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee chaired by Hans‑Joachim Eckert.

According to the release, Villar Llona "failed to behave in accordance with the general rules of conduct applicable to football officials in the context of the investigations conducted by the then chairman of the investigatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee regarding the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup bids, thereby violating article 13 of the FCE (FIFA Code of Ethics)."

Last month, FIFA confirmed that Villar Llona - along with Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer - was under investigation after refusing to co-operate with Michael Garcia's inquest into the awarding of the tournaments that were handed to Russia and Qatar respectively.

Villar Llona, who stood in for suspended UEFA president Michel Platini at the European body's ExCo meeting in October, "subsequently expressed his commitment to collaborate and demonstrated a willingness to co-operate, (therefore) he has been sanctioned with a warning and a fine of CHF 25,000," concluded the statement from the Ethics Committee.

It was also revealed that Congolese Football Association vice-president Jean Guy Blaise Mayolas, and general secretary Badji Mombo Wantete, had been banned for six months.

The charges came after both men were found guilty of "committing acts contrary to article 13 (General rules of conduct) and article 20 (Offering and accepting gifts and other benefits) of the FIFA Code of Ethics (FCE) at the FIFA Congress 2015."

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