Musa Bility had hoped to become FIFA president but his name will not be on the ballot paper for February’s election.
The head of the Liberian Football Association failed to pass an integrity test and was a conspicuous absentee on the list of approved presidential candidates released by world football’s global governing body Thursday.
A statement from FIFA said it would “not comment publicly on the specifics of its decision” with regards Bility.
However, it did detail that the integrity check included “a review of corporate records, litigation cases, bankruptcy proceedings, potential regulatory actions taken against the candidate and a review of media reports concerning potential red flags (fraudulent behavior, match manipulation, human rights violations, etc.)”
There is no suggestion that Bility was excluded for any of the precise reasons outlined above and he is able to appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.
Bility wasn’t immediately available for comment when contacted by CNN.
FIFA confirmed the candidatures of Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Jerome Champagne, Gianni Infantino, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa and Tokyo Sexwale were all approved.
Suspended UEFA boss, Michel Platini was also omitted from the final list, although he could be added should his provisional ban from the sport end before the vote takes place on February 26.
Platini is appealing against the 90-day suspension handed down by FIFA’s ethics committee in October as it investigates a “disloyal” $2 million payment allegedly received from for work carried out at FIFA between 1999 and 2002.
Speaking to CNN recently, Bility made clear his view that world football needed a fresh start.
“There has to be a new face in charge of FIFA. If not, then you are setting a new date for a disaster to come,” he said earlier this month.
“People have to realize that this organization has been badly run for 30 years, we have to have a clean break from that,” he added.
“Today the game is no longer about the playing of the game, it is about the bad management of the governing system. We have to change that.
“Through the management of football you can touch so many people’s lives. You can make a difference, you can inspire kids on the street.
“My motivation is that I want to change the lives of people. I want people to be able to believe, because if I didn’t believe then I wouldn’t be where I am today.”