By Andrew Warshaw
October 16 – Former FIFA Presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam has lodged a fresh appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the latest episode of the long-running saga to clear his name.
The 63-year-old Qatari, who had a lifetime ban for bribery overturned by the CAS in July, is now appealing against his current provisional ban from football.
Bin Hammam was originally accused of trying to buy the votes of Caribbean officials at a May 2011, meeting in Port of Spain one month before the FIFA election.
He withdrew his candidacy and was subsequently suspended pending an investigation.
In overturning his ban, the CAS said FIFA had provided insufficient evidence but, crucially, added that the decision did not mean Bin Hammam was innocent of the charges – meaning the case could be re-opened with new evidence.
Shortly afterwards Bin Hammam was banned for a further 90 days, while FIFA’s revamped Ethics Committee collected further evidence as well as looking into a new, Asian Football Confederation (AFC)-commissioned independent report that alleged gross financial mismanagement by Bin Hammam while he was AFC President.
Bin Hammam (pictured above, left) claims all charges and suspensions are politically motivated, stemming from when he challenged Sepp Blatter (pictured above, right) for the FIFA Presidency.
The timing of Bin Hammam’s latest appeal is significant since the current provisional ban is due to expire on October 23 and is likely to be extended by a further period.
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