Mohamed Bin Hammam has had his lifetime FIFA ban overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The Qatari was found guilty of paying bribes to Caribbean officials by FIFA`s ethics committee last year when challenging Sepp Blatter for the presidency.
Bin Hammam has always denied any wrongdoing and while his ban has been overturned he has not been proven innocent, with the CAS stating that there is “insufficient evidence” against him.
The CAS panel released a statement explaining the decision, stating: “This conclusion should not be taken to diminish the significance of its finding that it is more likely than not that Mr. Bin Hammam was the source of the monies that were brought into Trinidad and Tobago and eventually distributed at the meeting by Mr Warner, and that in this way, his conduct, in collaboration with and most likely induced by Mr Warner, may not have complied with the highest ethical standards that should govern the world of football and other sports.”
“The Panel is doing no more than concluding that the evidence is insufficient in that it does not permit the majority of the Panel to reach the standard of comfortable satisfaction in relation to the matters on which the Appellant was charged.
“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.”
Goal.com
First Published: Friday, July 20, 2012, 09:13