By Andrew Warshaw
July 17 – Former Asian football supremo Mohamed Bin Hammam’s hopes of restoring his power base have been effectively dashed after he was sanctioned by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) when an audit of AFC accounts revealed allegations of financial wrongdoing.
Bin Hammam, the former AFC President who is currently fighting a life ban over last year’s cash-for-votes scandal in the Caribbean, has been suspended for 30 days for “events surrounding the negotiation and execution of certain contracts and with the financial transactions made in and out of AFC bank accounts and his personal account during the tenure of Mr Bin Hammam’s Presidency”.
Last year the Qatari challenged Sepp Blatter for the FIFA Presidency but withdrew his candidacy just days before the June election following claims that he had tried to buy the votes of Caribbean officials.
Bin Hammam, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, was banned for life and has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which is expected to reach a verdict next week.
If cleared, he could technically resume AFC activities but is unlikely to gain sufficient support as a result of the latest move, with the AFC hot seat, currently occupied on a temporary basis by Zhang Jilong of China, going to either Yousef Al Serkal of the United Arab Emirates or Shaikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain.
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