Nyantakyi admitted wrongdoing during FIFA ban appeal

Former Ghana Football Association President, Kwesi Nyantakyi is reported to have admitted to breaching some of FIFA's code of ethics during his appeal hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sports(CAS).

The former Vice President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) had his lifetime football ban reduced to 15 years plus a fine of $500,000 to $100,000 after appealing his sentence at the sports apex court.

This new development comes as a surprise as the football guru had previously denied breaching FIFA's code of ethics after the airing of the Anas Number 12 documentary on June 6, 2018, at the Accra International Conference Centre.

However, according to a report by the BBC, the lawyers of Kwesi Nyantakyi were able to get a reduced sentence for their client after arguing that a lifetime ban was neither fair nor matched the offenses committed.

"[Nyantakyi] admitted his guilt only on the morning of the final hearing."

"[He] added that a life ban would ruin his life and be disproportionate in the circumstances."

"[He] accepted at the hearing the necessity of CAS imposing a significant sanction and that, since he had admitted the offenses, the ban could not be quashed," CAS wrote in its report as reported by the BBC.

Background:

In June 2018, Kwesi Nyantakyi was filmed by ace investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas when he took $65,000 in cash.

Nyantakyi in the video was seen packing the money into a black plastic bag as an inducement from a purported investor who wanted to sponsor Ghana football.

He was subsequently banned for life by FIFA while President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo banned football in the country at the time.