By Andrew Warshaw
August 24 – Hans-Joachim Eckert, one of the two newly appointed independent chairmen of FIFA’s revamped Ethics Committee, has made his first decision, confirming that former Presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam is provisionally suspended while bribery allegations are re-investigated.
FIFA says Eckert (pictured top), who has responsibility for adjudication, invited Bin Hammam “to submit a written statement” on the case before making his ruling.
FIFA suspended Bin Hammam from all football duties for 90 days last month at the request of the other two-chamber Ethics Committee chairman, Michael Garcia, who deals with the investigation and prosecution side.
Garcia is deciding whether to throw the book at Bin Hammam over possible financial mismanagement of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) funds when the former Qatari powerbroker was AFC President.
The allegations are contained in an audit by accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Garcia is also examining whether there is enough fresh evidence to return to last year’s cash-for-votes scandal over which Bin Hammam was banned for life.
The ban was recently reversed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), prompting FIFA to search for fresh evidence.
Earlier this month, Bin Hammam (pictured above) admitted making payments to Asian officials – but insisted they were for personal reasons such as those suffering from serious illnesses and had nothing to do with AFC funds.
He has written to leaders of several Asian countries claiming he is still being targeted for having challenged Sepp Blatter for the FIFA Presidency and explaining the payments highlighted by PwC.
Among them, said Bin Hammam, were personal gestures made to Zhang Jilong, the acting AFC President who took over from Bin Hammam and who ordered the PwC investigation in the first place.
“Jilong was one of those who came to me for financial support and I helped him with a significant amount from my personal account,” Bin Hammam wrote.
“I will leave him to explain the circumstances of this to you if he wishes.”
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