Nigeria: FIFA Clears Blatter, Suspends Bin Hammam

30 May 2011

The FIFA ethics committee suspended one-time presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam and FIFA vice-president Jack Warner on Sunday while clearing FIFA president Sepp Blatter of corruption.

The committee, chaired by Namibian Petrus Damaseb, heard 62-year-old Qatari bin Hammam, Warner and Blatter during a dramatic day which had started with bin Hammam withdrawing from the presidential election in which he was Blatter’s sole opponent.

Two members of the Caribbean Football Union Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester, who were said to have colluded with bin Hammam and Warner, were also suspended.

The FIFA presidential election will also go ahead as planned on June 1, announced FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke after the ethics committee announced its findings.

“Both bin Hammam and Warner were provisionally banned from future activity in football while a full investigation is carried out” announced Damaseb.

“There, they can confront their accusers.

“The critical consideration is to ensure the investigation is not compromised and that is why we have chosen to provisionally suspend them even if we are not here to say whether they are guilty or not guilty.

“Our concern is a potential interference with the investigations, so it justifies us taking these measures. The hearing will be fair, and they will have the opportunity to defend themselves.”

Bin Hammam, Warner and two Caribbean Football Union (CFU) officials had been summoned to the ethics committee to answer corruption allegations but the two CFU officials failed to appear despite FIFA offeirng to fly them in at their own expense.

Bin Hammam and Warner were targeted after Chuck Blazer, general secretary of regional football body CONCACAF, reported possible misdeeds during a May 10 and 11 meeting in Trinidad.

Bin Hammam and Warner were accused of offering 40,000 dollars (28,000 euros) in cash gifts to national associations at the Trinidad conference in return for their votes in the presidential election.

Blatter, 75, had been summoned to appear before the ethics committee to answer claims that Warner had told him in advance of alleged payments made at the meeting.

He strongly denied that and his version of events was accepted by the ethics committee.

While many had suggested that the election could not go ahead with the ongoing corruption enquiry Valcke said there was no question of postponing it – which will see Blatter win his fourth and final term in office since he came to power in 1998 following the man he faithfully served as secretary-general Joao Havelange.

“Why postpone the election? Because the press asked for it to be?” said Valcke.

“There is no reason to do so. I recognise that the timing couldn’t be worse, but what happens, happens, that is all.”

AllAfrica – All the Time