Bin Hammam takes ban battle to CAS

Mohamed Bin Hammam will take his battle against a lifetime ban for bribery to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after losing an appeal against the punishment.

FIFA’s appeals committee today rejected Bin Hammam’s attempt to overturn the ban imposed by the world governing body’s ethics committee in July.

A statement from Bin Hammam’s lawyer Eugene Gulland said: “As expected, the FIFA appeals panel, which met in Zurich today, upheld the 23 July ruling by the FIFA ethics committee, and we will therefore be taking our appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).”

The lawyer also revealed that Bin Hammam's legal team will take a separate case to CAS challenging FIFA's right to appoint China's Zhang Jilong as acting president of the Asian Football Confederation in place of the Qatari.

Gulland added: “Mr Bin Hammam has already gone on record stating that he was not optimistic of justice prevailing from the FIFA appeals process but this was a protocol to enable him to obtain access to CAS.

“History seems to bear him out as the FIFA appeals process has rarely interfered with the decisions of its football colleagues in other FIFA internal panels.

“We have also brought a separate legal proceeding before CAS which challenges the right of FIFA to designate Zhang Jilong as ’acting president’ of the Asian Football Confederation and appoint him to sit on the FIFA executive committee. These decisions infringe the Asian Football Confederation’s constitution.”

Gulland called on FIFA to move quickly in sending out the full findings of the appeal and to publish the transcript in full.

“Let’s hope FIFA does not draw the issue of this by a further month, like the previous motivated decision, as we are keen to present our case to an independent body,” said Gulland.

“We also continue to champion the need for transparency and call on FIFA to publish the transcripts of the appeals panel as well as that of the ethics committee proceedings in July.”

Timeline

May 25, 2011: American FIFA executive committee member Chuck Blazer reported FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam and FIFA vice-president Jack Warner – plus two other officials – to the world governing body’s ethics committee over allegations of wrongdoing during a meeting organised by Bin Hammam and Warner on May 10 and 11.

May 27: FIFA announced they had opened “ethics proceedings” against president Sepp Blatter. Bin Hammam had earlier issued a statement confirming he had requested that the investigation be broadened to include Blatter, with Bin Hammam alleging Blatter knew about alleged cash payments. Bin Hammam later claimed on his website that there was “increasing evidence” of a conspiracy against his candidacy for the FIFA presidency.

May 28: Warner insisted he was not guilty of a “single iota of wrongdoing”.

May 29: Bin Hammam announced on his website he had withdrawn from the FIFA presidential election, vowing to clear his name when he appeared before the ethics committee.

FIFA later suspended Bin Hammam and Warner pending an investigation into claims they had offered financial incentives to members of the Caribbean Football Union, but said regarding Blatter “no investigation is warranted”.

May 30: Valcke confirmed an email he sent to Warner suggesting the 2022 World Cup was “bought” was genuine. According to Warner, the email from Valcke to him stated: “For MBH (Bin Hammam), I never understood why he was running. If really he thought he had a chance or just being an extreme way to express how much he does not like anymore JSB (Blatter). Or he thought you can buy FIFA as they bought the WC.”

The successful Qatar 2022 team denied any wrongdoing with their winning bid, saying their name had been “dragged through the mud for no reason”.

Bin Hammam confirmed that he would appeal against his suspension from football activities.

Press Association Sport obtained a picture of the money which a Caribbean football official says he was offered following Bin Hammam’s presentation at a meeting on May 10.

Blatter gave a press conference in Zurich at which he clashed with journalists, denying there was a crisis within FIFA, only “some difficulties”.

May 31: Blazer claimed Warner had met with CONCACAF members, violating the terms of his ban.

Acting CONCACAF president Lisle Austin attempted to sack Blazer, but a CONCACAF statement nullified the decision, claiming Austin did not have sufficient authority to take such a move.

June 1: The Football Association’s bid to postpone the presidential election ended in a heavy defeat with FIFA members voting by 172 votes to 17 not to do so.

Blatter was officially re-elected as FIFA president with 186 votes from the 203 voting members.

June 4: CONCACAF suspended acting president Lisle Austin from all football activity for an alleged infringement of the confederation’s statutes and requested FIFA extend the ban worldwide.

June 20: Warner resigned from his posts in international football, avoiding FIFA investigation.

June 22: FIFA’s ethics committee report seen by Press Association Sport said there was “comprehensive, convincing and overwhelming” evidence that Bin Hammam tried to bribe officials during his presidential campaign and that Warner was “an accessory to corruption”.

July 23: FIFA ethics committee deputy chairman Petrus Damaseb confirmed Bin Hammam had been banned from all international and national football activity for life after being found guilty of bribery. His legal team immediately vowed he would continue to “fight his case through the legal routes that are open to him”.

August 11: FIFA announced ethics proceedings against 16 officials from Caribbean countries in the wake of the bribery scandal.

September 15: Bin Hammam’s appeal against his lifetime ban from football activities was rejected. He swiftly announced, via his lawyer, that he would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.