Wolfgang Niersbach, the former president of the German soccer federation and a member of the FIFA council, was slapped with a one-year ban from soccer activities by FIFA’s ethics committee forone year over misconduct surrounding Germany’s successful 2006 World Cup bid.
The 65-year-old Niersbach, a vice president of the 2006 World Cup organizing committee, resigned as Germanfederation president last November amid accusations the organization used a slush fund to buy the right to host the tournament. He has not decided whether to appeal the decision.