Zurich, May 30 (IANS) Suspended Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohammad bin Hammam Monday said he would appeal against the provisional suspension slapped on him by the FIFA Ethics Committee.
In a statement, the 62-year-old Qatari said he would not accept the decision of FIFA Ethics Committee, which also provisionally suspended FIFA vice-president Jack Warner and two officials from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) – Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester. They have been suspended pending a full inquiry by the FIFA Ethics Committee.
Bin Hammam’s allegations against his challenger FIFA president Sepp Blatter, whom he accused of knowing about the payments made, were rejected by the Ethics Committee.
Bin Hammam will file his appeal by Tuesday, a day before the FIFA presidential elections.
‘The way these proceedings have been conducted is absolutely not compliant with any principles of justice. I am punished before I am found guilty. I get the impression that the outcome of these proceedings had been defined from the very beginning as it has been made evident at the press conference on Sunday evening at which FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke showed his bias very clearly,’ Bin Hammam said in a statement.
‘This is not acceptable as the FIFA Ethics Committee is supposed to be a fully independent body. Therefore, I also expect the further investigation to be influenced and manipulated,’ he said.
