MONROVIA: Former Liberian FA President, Musa Hassan Bility, has lost his appeal filed before the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) against FIFA with respect to the decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the Ethics Committee on 12 February 2019 against him.
The appeal was dismissed and the decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the Ethics Committee on 12 February 2019 was confirmed. This means that Mr. Musa Bility’s 10-year ban on allegation of corruption remains in place.
Bility’s initial 10-year ban by the world’s football governing body FIFA was triggered after the Liberian was said to have misappropriated FIFA funds, offering and accepting gifts as well as other benefits and conflicts of interest.
According to a statement from FIFA, Bility, a former President of the Liberia Football Association (LFA), misappropriated funds from entities owned by him or linked to his family.
The Liberian businessman had petitioned the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) with the hopes of having the FIFA decision against him overturned. But with the CAS decision, dated May 2, 2023 upholding the FIFA ban, Bility’s 10-year suspension from the sport stands.
Prior to his appeal dismissal, Bility, an executive committee member at the Confederation of African Football (CAF), was found “guilty of having misappropriated FIFA funds, as well as having received benefits and found himself in situations of conflict of interest, in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics,” according the statement from FIFA.
He was banned from any dealings with football for 10 years, and also slapped with a €455,000 fine by judges sitting on the FIFA independent ethics committee board.
The investigation into Bility’s fund bilking was launched in May 2018, relating to “the misappropriation of the funds granted under FIFA’s 11 against Ebola campaign, said FIFA.
The campaign used top soccer stars to reinforce Ebola prevention and awareness measures in November 2014, when the pandemic was at its height in Liberia, as well as neighboring Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Musa Hassan Bility, is the Chairman and CEO of Srimex Oil Gas company in Liberia.
The 10 year ban on Bility for allegedly stealing money earmarked by the International Football Association to help Ebola awareness during the deadly epidemic that killed 11, 000 people in West Africa come at a time when debate about integrity is growing ahead of the October 10 Presidential and Legislative elections.
Bility, Chairperson of the troubled-riddled Liberty Party, and trusted Ally of Mr. Alexander Cummings who is seeking to remove incumbent Liberian President George Weah from state-power on allegation of bad governance and corruption.
Mr. Bility and others, according to reports, are said to be in conversation with other opposition leaders seeking to consummate a political marriage for Mr. Alexander Cummings.
Like Boakai, many are also wondering that a Bility company with the ANC political leader could undermine the integrity argument proffered by Mr. Cummings and those in the Collaborating Political Parties.
In 2015, Bility had tried to run for FIFA president to replace Sepp Blatter, who had been removed after a number of scandals. FIFA barred him from running, saying he had “failed to pass integrity tests”.
