By Andrew Warshaw
November 1 – Mohamed Bin Hammam has lost the latest round of his ongoing campaign to clear his name and regain a place at the top table of Asian and world football.
The complex saga pitting Bin Hammam, once the most powerful man in Asian football, against FIFA and his enemies within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) reached another landmark after his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against his latest suspension was rejected.
Bin Hammam (pictured top) had a lifetime ban for bribery overturned by CAS in July through lack of enough firm evidence but sport’s highest court made it clear its verdict in favour of the 63-year-old Qatari did not necessarily mean he was entirely innocent of the charges.
It said the decision to annul Bin Hammam’s life ban was not “an affirmative finding of innocence” and that the case could be reopened with new evidence.
Bin Hammam had been accused of trying to buy the votes of Caribbean officials one month before he was due to challenge Sepp Blatter in last year’s FIFA Presidential election.
Within a week of his life ban being overturned, Bin Hammam was suspended again by FIFA, this time for a provisional period of 90 days to allow for a fresh probe by its revamped Ethics Committee.
He appealed in mid-October against that ban, only for it to be extended for another 45 days last week to allow for the new probe, headed by FIFA corruption buster Michael Garcia and also looking into allegations that Bin Hammam seriously misused AFC funds while he was its President, to continue.
Bin Hammam, who denies all the charges against him and insists all his AFC business was completely above board, has consistently accused FIFA of a conspiracy to punish him over his attempt to oust Blatter.
Mysteriously, the announcement that his latest appeal had been turned down came from FIFA and not from the CAS whose website made no mention of any decision, adding further intrigue to a saga that shows no sign of abating or reaching an ultimate conclusion.
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