From Reuters

ZURICH, July 31 (Reuters) – Former Caribbean Football Union (CFU) president Gordon Derrick’s ban from football for ethics violations has been cut from six years to four following an appeal, global soccer body FIFA said on Tuesday.

Derrick, also a former general secretary of the Antigua FA, was banned by FIFA’s ethics committee last September following an investigation which began in March 2015. He has denied wrongdoing.

FIFA’s appeal committee said it agreed with the original verdict that Derrick had violated rules on offering and accepting gifts and other benefits, conflicts of interest, loyalty and general conduct.

“These breaches were confirmed by the FIFA Appeal Committee,” it said in FIFA statement.

It did not agree, however, with the ethics committee’s findings that Derrick had failed to collaborate with the investigation or disclose information.

It therefore decided to “reduce the sanction imposed on Mr Derrick, following its finding that fewer (ethics code) articles had been infringed, and taking into account all mitigating circumstances of the case.”

The appeal committee said it had also halved an original fine of 30,000 Swiss francs ($30,300). Derrick now has the option of taking his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). ($1 = 0.9901 Swiss francs) (Writing by Brian Homewood Editing by Toby Davis)

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IMAGE: Gordon Derrick Caribbean National Weekly