Mayne-Nicholls handed seven-year ban from football by FIFA Ethics Committee

Harold Mayne-Nicholls (right) pictured with Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar during the inspection visit in 2010 ©Getty Images

Harold Mayne-Nicholls, head of the FIFA Evaluation Commission for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid campaigns, has been suspended from all football-related activity for seven years.

He is the first person to banned following the governing body's investigation into Qatar's victory in the 2022 race.

The Chilean, who had at one point last year been considered a potential Presidential opponent for Sepp Blatter, exchanged emails with officials from Qatar's Aspire Academy regarding the possibility of unpaid internships for his son, nephew and brother-in-law.

These internships were not ultimately provided, and when the Evaluation Reports were compiled, Mayne-Nicholls warned that the Gulf State was too hot to stage a World Cup.

He has now vowed to appeal the verdict of the FIFA Ethics Committee, vowing to take his grievance all the way up to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if needs be.

The official also criticised FIFA for making his sanction public before the appeal has been heard.

“Concerning Fifa Ethics Committee ruling before the first instance, I will appeal to higher courts established in Fifa statutes and TAS (sic),” he posted on Twitter.

“I wonder why @FIFAcom publishes a sanction that has outstanding resources, as this may be modified by higher courts.”

Harold Mayne-Nicholls was at one point seen as a possible FIFA Presidential opponent for Sepp Blatter ©Getty Images — Chile's Harold Mayne-Nicholls was last year seen as a possible FIFA Presidential opponent for Sepp Blatter but decided not to stand ©Getty Images

Investigations into Mayne-Nicholls surfaced last year soon after he mooted the possibility of running against Sepp Blatter for the Presidency, although it is claimed they predated his announcement.

After Belgium’s Michel D’Hooghe was cleared of wrongdoing in February, proceedings are still underway against three other FIFA Executive Committee members who decided upon the 2018 and 2022 hosts.

These are Germany's Franz Beckenbauer, Spain's FIFA vice-president Ángel María Villar and Thailand's Worawi Makudi.

Since then, FIFA has been plunged into turmoil following the arrest of nine senior officials ahead of last month's Congress in Zurich, leading to Blatter pledging to stand down later this year just days after he was re-elected to a fifth term in office.

An important Executive Committee meeting is due to take place in Zurich on July 20, which is in turn expected to set the date for the extraordinary FIFA Congress at which a successor to Blatter is due to be elected.