Blatter was out for revenge, claims Bin Hammam

By Andrew Warshaw

July 24 – Asian football chief Mohamed Bin Hammam claims the life ban against him was an act of revenge for him standing against Sepp Blatter for FIFA President – and still insists he never paid bribes to anyone.

Less than 24 hours after becoming the highest-profile FIFA figure to be kicked out of the organisation, Bin Hammam said he has still not been told the specifics of what he was supposed to have done wrong.

“The ban for life shows how much these people are angry and how much they are full of revenge,” he said.

“It’s very strange when you promote democracy but you don’t like it.”

Bin Hammam pulled out of the Presidential race just before he was originally charged and suspended over the cash-for-votes scandal but claimed the Ethics Committee who banned him yesterday were told what to do in advance and were no more than a kangaroo court.

Referring to a series of media leaks during the inquiry, Bin Hammam suggested his ban was already decided before the investigation started.

Explaining for the first time why he stayed away from the hearing in Zurich, he said it was a deliberate ploy in order not to hand the advantage to FIFA.

“My legal team were almost sure that FIFA would use my appearance for their own purposes,” he told BBC’s Sportsweek programme.

Pressed on whether he had paid $40,000 (£24,000) bribes to Caribbean Football Union members, Bin Hammam said he had only paid travel expenses for the infamous meeting in Trinidad and Tobago on May 10 and 11.

“We wrote to FIFA about 10 days ago asking them what the accusations were,” said Bin Hammam.

“One or two days before the trial, FIFA wrote back to my lawyers telling them they would know on July 22.

“From that we knew that FIFA had already taken the decision and just wanted a platform to announce.”

In order to follow due process, Bin Hammam will first appeal to FIFA’s Appeals Committee but admitted he would get no joy there and would have to work through more independent channels.

“It’s another kangaroo court,” he said.

“But then we are going to the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) when things are going to be much improved.

“Then I should go to the civil courts in Switzerland where we have full confidence.

“We did not do anything wrong.

“Of course I paid the travel expenses and daily allowances but as I said these are fabricated circumstances.

“Let me make it very clear, to pay any money in connection to votes, that has never been the case in all my life.”

Asked whether his ban would affect Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup, he replied: “I hoping it might not but who knows?”

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