I. INTRODUCTION

1. This appeal is brought by Mr Ahongalu Fusimalohi (hereinafter also the “Appellant”), former member of the Executive Committee of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (hereinafter “FIFA” or the “Respondent”), against a decision of the FIFA Appeal Committee, which held him responsible for breaching articles 3, 9, 11 and 14 of the FIFA Code of Ethics and which imposed on him a ban from taking part in any football-related activity at national and international level for a period of two years as well as a fine of CHF 7,500.

2. The facts from which the appeal emanates are that the Appellant was secretly filmed and recorded by a hidden camera and an audio recording device, while meeting with an undercover Sunday Times journalist posing as a lobbyist purporting to support the United States football federation’s bid for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. The video and audio recordings of that meeting (hereinafter “the Recordings”), passed on by the Sunday Times to FIFA, are the evidentiary basis of the case against Mr Ahongalu Fusimalohi.