Asian football chief Mohamed bin Hammam lodged a formal protest against his FIFA suspension here Wednesday, complaining he had been given no chance to appeal the ban. Bin Hammam, who ended his bid to unseat FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Sunday just hours before being suspended amid bribery claims, said the reasons for his suspension had never been disclosed. “Despite his explicit written request, he was not provided with the motivated decision of his suspension in due course and he was not able to file his appeal and was denied his last opportunity to get access to the FIFA congress,” a statement released by bin Hammam’s office said. The statement said bin Hammam had sent a letter to FIFA on Wednesday listing several areas “which demonstrate very clearly that he is not getting a fair proceeding.” “I was punished before I was found guilty,” bin Hammam complained in the statement. Bin Hammam was suspended along with Caribbean, North and Central American (CONCACAF) chief Jack Warner over claims they had attempted to buy votes in the campaign to topple Blatter. Bin Hammam accused FIFA’s ethics committee of ignoring written statements from 12 Caribbean officials which supported his version of events.
