Soccer
Bin Hammam appeals ban
2011-08-25 07:25
Doha - Banned Asian soccer president
Mohamed Bin Hammam has launched an appeal against his lifetime ban by
FIFA but said he did not expect to win his case just yet despite the
decision being 'hugely flawed.'
The 62-year-old Qatari was given
a lifetime ban from soccer by the world governing body last month after
being found guilty of bribing Caribbean officials during his bid to
oust incumbent FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
In a statement on
his personal blog, the former Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
president said that he had appealed after FIFA released the motivated
decisions of the Ethics Committee, who banned him, last week.
"I
have submitted my case to the FIFA Appeals Committee, not hoping for
justice to prevail but as a protocol to enable me to obtain access to
the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS)," the Qatari said
(www.mohamedbinhammam.com).
"After all, the panel from the
Appeals Committee is decided by my opponent and in this case, as
previously, the judge is the rival. Therefore, I should not exaggerate
hope for a fair decision.
"Going through the motivated
decisions, we found them to be deeply flawed and raises grave doubts on
whether any decision-making body of FIFA has sufficient independence to
ensure a fair decision based solely on evidences and applicable laws.
"Based on our experiences, we expect the appeal process and decision to
take approximately two months, not because this time is necessarily
needed but more due to FIFA's tactical games and abuse of power, as
evident throughout this case."
Last month, acting president AFC
president Zhang Jilong of China said after their executive committee
meeting in Kuala Lumpur that they would not be able to replace Bin
Hammam until after May 30.