Former FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam won his appeal against a lifetime ban but failed to clear his name in an election bribery case yesterday.
The Qatari official scored a victory at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which lifted his life ban from football imposed by FIFA for allegedly bribing voters during his challenge to Sepp Blatter last year.
However, the court panel refused to declare Bin Hammam innocent of corruption. It simply overturned the ban because a FIFA probe led by former FBI director Louis Freeh’s agency failed to find conclusive evidence.
“It is a situation of ‘case not proven,’ coupled with concern on the part of the Panel that the FIFA investigation was not complete or comprehensive enough to fill the gaps in the record,” sport’s highest court said in a statement.
Despite his win, Bin Hammam faces further legal battles.
Bin Hammam faces new charges of bribery at the Asian Football Confederation, where he was president up until the election scandal. The AFC claimed this week financial mismanagement by Bin Hammam was revealed in a forensic audit of its accounts.
So instead of trying to return to office, he told the BBC’s World Service yesterday that he could simply walk away.
“My wish now is just to quit and retire,” Bin Hammam told the World Football programme. “I’ve served football for 42 years. This last year I have seen a very ugly face of the sport.”
FIFA responded to the CAS verdict “with concern”, saying it will ask its newly appointed independent prosecutor Michael J. Garcia to re-examine the case.
“The FIFA Ethics Committee will then decide based on the reports and evidence presented to it if any action is required to be taken against Mohamed bin Hammam,” FIFA said in a statement.
Bin Hammam’s victory at CAS will only partially restore his shattered reputation.
FIFA got evidence from Caribbean whistleblowers who said they were offered $40,000 cash bribes during the 63-year-old Qatari’s electioneering visit.
Bin Hammam denied wrongdoing, claiming Blatter helped orchestrate a scandal to guarantee his election victory unopposed a few weeks later.
Yesterday’s ruling followed a two-day hearing in April at the court in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Bin Hammam, who refused to attend FIFA hearings which enforced the life ban, did not attend or testify. Blatter gave evidence by video link from FIFA headquarters in Zurich.
Elected to lead Asian football in 2002, Bin Hammam launched his bid to lead football’s governing body last year just months after helping Qatar win 2022 World Cup hosting rights.
Bin Hammam and Blatter were locked in a tight race for the presidency and 25 CFU countries were thought to hold the balance of power among the 208 FIFA member nations.
Whistleblowers testified that FIFA vice president Jack Warner, the longtime strongman of Caribbean football, told them he advised Bin Hammam to bring cash instead of formal gifts to the meeting.
The new Asian allegations, including bribery and mismanagement of commercial contracts, block Bin Hammam from an immediate return to his office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The AFC imposed a 30-day suspension on him this week. He is also prevented from retaking his seat at FIFA’s high table.
Bin Hammam has represented Asia on FIFA’s executive committee since 1996. He was elected AFC president in 2002, and was serving his final four-year mandate when the FIFA election scandal rocked world football.