ZURICH, Switzerland: FIFA has decided not to pursue new bribery charges against Mohamed bin Hammam , the former president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), news reports said yesterday.
In May last year, Qatar’s bin Hammam was accused of attempting to bribe Caribbean officials during his campaign to challenge Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency.
But, according to The Guardian, FIFA’s chief ethics investigator Michael Garcia closed the case after failing to uncover any new evidence.
Bin Hammam has always denied the allegation and had a lifetime FIFA ban overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) this July due to insufficient evidence.
The court overturned a ruling by FIFA’s ethics committee that the 63-year-old Qatari was guilty of paying bribes at a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) meeting in Trinidad and Tobago in 2011.
Garcia sent a detailed report to FIFA in which he outlined the reasons for his decision to close the investigation.
“This investigation focused on events that took place at the CFU meeting in Trinidad and Tobago in May 2011,” stated the report.
“With respect to the events at the CFU conference, the investigation uncovered no new material proof beyond the substantial evidence presented during the proceedings that culminated with the CAS decision vacating Mr bin Hammam’s ban.
“Accordingly, the Investigatory Chamber has closed this matter consistent with the CAS Panel’s guidance regarding newly discovered evidence.”
In July, a CAS three-man panel voted 2-1 in bin Hammam’s favour but added that his behaviour was “not of the highest ethical standard”.
“It is a situation of ‘case not proven’. The Panel is still concerned that the FIFA investigation was not complete or comprehensive enough to fill the gaps in the record.”
Bin Hammam remains provisionally suspended over allegations of financial mismanagement of the AFC but his legal team this week launched a challenge to that suspension in the Swiss courts.THE PENINSULA
