Qatar’s FIFA Bin Hammam Banned For Life

Former Qatari official and FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam has announced his immediate resignation from all positions within football having been banned from the game for life.

In a statement issued by FIFA, the sport’s governing body, it said Bin Hammam “will never be active in organised football again”.

Bin Hammam, who was a FIFA Executive Committee member and the head of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), was previously banned in 2011 due to allegations of bribery during a bid to remove FIFA’s chief Sepp Blatter.

Bin Hammam’s latest ban follows a report by FIFA’s ethics committee that revealed several violations of FIFA’s code of ethics. He claims he is innocent of corruption charges that have seen him ‘banned for life’.

“In view of the fact that under the new FIFA Code of Ethics, the FIFA Ethics Committee remains competent to render a decision even if a person resigns, the Adjudicatory Chamber decided to ban Mohamed Bin Hammam from all football-related activity for life,” the statement said.

FIFA said it received a resignation letter from Bin Hammam dated December 15.

A report by Michael J Garcia, chairman of the Investigatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee, is believed to show repeated violations of Article 19 (Conflict of Interest) of the FIFA Code of Ethics, edition 2012, of Mohamed Bin Hammam during his terms as AFC President and as member of the FIFA Executive Committee between 2008-2011, FIFA said.

Bin Hammam was accused of paying $40,000 in brown envelopes to Caribbean officials in an attempt to buy presidential votes, during a meeting in Spain.

He withdrew his candidacy for the FIFA elections and Blatter was re-elected unopposed for a fourth term as FIFA president.