Sad news for Kiwis ... Mohamed Bin Hammam has been banned for life from all football-related activity after being found guilty of bribery by FIFA's ethics committee.
http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/1065925/Bin-Hammam-gets-life-ban
Mohamed Bin Hammam has been banned for life from all football-related activity after being found guilty of bribery by FIFA's ethics committee.
The FIFA member and Asian Football Confederation president had been suspended since May 29 pending an investigation into claims that he attempted to bribe members of the Caribbean Football Union at a meeting on the FIFA presidency campaign trail in Trinidad in May.
After a two-day hearing which Bin Hammam did not attend, ethics committee deputy chairman Petrus Damaseb confirmed that the former FIFA presidential candidate was found guilty and banned from all football-related activity for life.
Damaseb said: "Bin Hammam is hereby banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity at national and international level for life."
Damaseb delivered the verdict at a press conference in Zurich.
Bin Hammam insisted this week he would not get a fair hearing and Damaseb confirmed he had not attended the two-day session in Switzerland but was represented by five members of his legal counsel.
Bin Hammam had been set to run against incumbent FIFA president Sepp Blatter but withdrew from the race in the wake of the allegations and has been suspended from all football activity since May 29.
CFU officials Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester were handed one-year bans for their role in the affair.
Jack Warner, the FIFA vice-president who was charged along with Bin Hammam, did not face the ethics committee after FIFA dropped the investigation into him following his resignation from all football activities.
The 62-year-old Qatari had said on his official Twitter account that he would attend the hearing in Switzerland while also launching an attack against football's world governing body.
He said on his blog: "If we believe earlier press statements made by or on behalf of different FIFA officials or those working for them, then despite the weakness of the case against me, I am not confident that the hearing will be conducted in the manner any of us would like.
"It seems likely that FIFA has already made its decision weeks ago. So, none of us should be completely surprised if a guilty verdict is returned.
"Following the events since my suspension, it now seems impossible for them to say that they were wrong, although I wish they would have the courage to correct their mistake."
Before the hearing Bin Hammam vowed to take his fight further if found guilty by FIFA.
He said: "Rest assured that justice will eventually prevail whether through the FIFA ethics committee, the Court of Arbitration for Sport or if necessary, through other courts or legal proceedings in courts where we will be equal and no special privileges will be granted to either party."
AFC Senior Vice-President Zhang Jilong released a statement declaring it was a 'sad day for AFC and Asian football'.
"AFC respects world football governing body FIFA's decision and we also acknowledge former AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam's inalienable right to lodge an appeal against the decision. AFC has nothing more to say on this particular issue.
"I would like to assure our fans, Member Associations, teams, players, marketing partners, in short all our stakeholders and well-wishers, that the AFC Executive Committee is united in its resolve to maintain the great momentum Asian football has achieved in the recent past. Asian football is going from strength to strength and AFC will ensure that we continue to steer steadily on this progressive path."
The ethics committee also issued a formal warning to USA's FIFA member Chuck Blazer, the man who first blew the whistle on the bribery scandal, for some comments he had made.
Blazer had warned CONCACAF members at a meeting on May 30 that they could be "under investigation" when this was not true, said FIFA in a statement. He was however clear of a complaint by a number of Caribbean associations that his comment had been racially motivated.
Blazer acknowledged he had spoken out of turn - even though a number of Caribbean associations were later questioned by investigators.
He told Press Association Sport: "I recognise that at the moment in time, and and knowing they were going to be called as witnesses, I mis-spoke and regret having done so. I am however very pleased the judge dismissed the complaint that it was racially motivated - anyone who knows me would realise that was totally ludicrous."
Socceroo/ Mariner / Whangarei
