Bin Hammam Continue Battle After Losing FIFA Appeal

see helvetica, cheap sans-serif;”>Bin Hammam had said he didn’t expect FIFA to accept his appeal, accusing the organization of being biased against him, and said he would take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after losing an appeal against the punishment.

His lawyer Eugene Gulland of Covington & Burling LLP confirmed the plan today.

A statement from Eugene Gulland said: “As expected, the FIFA appeals panel, which met in Zurich today, upheld the 23 July ruling by the FIFA ethics committee, and we will therefore be taking our appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).”

The Qatari, who was head of the Asian soccer confederation, was banned in July after being found guilty of buying votes for the FIFA leadership contest against Blatter. Bin Hammam said the ban was politically motivated and that he had the resources to fight for years to clear his name.

FIFA said in an e-mailed statement: “The appeal made by Mohammed Bin Hammam has been rejected and the decision of the FIFA Ethics Committee confirmed. The sanction of being banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at national and international level for life has therefore been maintained.”

The Zurich-based body’s three-member appeal panel was led by Ecuadorian Francisco Acosta and included officials from Argentina and Senegal.

FIFA’s decision to expel Bin Hammam came after an investigation led by former Federal Bureau of Investigation director Louis Freeh into claims he offered Caribbean soccer officials envelopes containing $40,000 while campaigning in the region. FIFA vice president Jack Warner, who arranged Bin Hammam’s visit to the Caribbean, was also suspended and quit the sport before the end of Freeh’s inquiry. He denied any wrongdoing.