By Andrew Warshaw
July 6 – Suspended Asian football powerbroker Mohamed Bin Hammam is set to learn his eagerly awaited fate on July 23 in what promises to be a landmark hearing of FIFA’s ethics committee.
The Committee will meet on July 22 and 23 – four days later than originally scheduled – to hear the case against Bin Hammam and two junior officials, having completed their investigation into his role in allegedly bribing 25 FIFA Caribbean members in May.
Both Bin Hammam and FIFA’s senior vice-president Jack Warner were suspended pending a final verdict but Warner has since resigned from all football activities rather than face a full and detailed inquiry.
The charges relate to a meeting of 25 associations of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) where it is alleged bribes of $40,000 (£24,000) were paid or offered by Bin Hammam, who was then campaigning for the FIFA presidency, in conjunction with Warner.
FIFA said in a statement: “The FIFA Ethics Committee will meet on 22 and 23 July to examine the cases of Mohamed Bin Hammam, Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester, who were provisionally suspended by the ethics committee on 29 May 2011 in relation to an alleged breach of the FIFA code of ethics and the FIFA disciplinary code.
“The three officials have received the report on the investigations conducted by the ethics committee since 29 May, and have been invited to present their position in writing prior to the meeting of 22 July.
“The hearings with Mohamed Bin Hammam, Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester will take place on 22 July, when the parties as well as the ethics committee also have the opportunity to call on potential witnesses.
“On 23 July, the Ethics Committee will deliberate and decide on the cases.”
Bin Hammam, head of the Asian Football Confederation, has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and is understood to be unwilling to follow in Warner’s footsteps and resign, preferring to face the possibility of being found guilty and then going to appeal if banned for life.
The bribery is said to have taken place in Trinidad in May some three weeks before the FIFA election.
Bin Hammam, who pulled out of the race against Sepp Blatter just before being provisionally barred, has been invited to present his position in writing prior to July 22.
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