Asian football supremo Mohamed bin Hammam was on Friday preparing to face allegations of bribery at a two-day FIFA ethics committee hearing here that could see him banned from the sport for life.
The 62-year-old Qatari, suspended from all football activity since May 29, is accused of attempting to buy the FIFA presidency by offering $40,000 cash gifts to Caribbean football officials in a bid to secure their votes.
The corruption charges prompted Bin Hammam to withdraw from the presidential race, enabling his former ally Sepp Blatter to secure an unopposed fourth straight term in office at the beginning of June.
Bin Hammam’s case will be heard alongside those of Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester, regional football officials who are alleged to have facilitated the bribery at a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) summit in May.
Former FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF president Jack Warner was also charged over his alleged role in the affair, but his subsequent resignation from the football arena saw FIFA drop their charges against him. Blatter, meanwhile, was cleared of wrongdoing after claims from Bin Hammam that he knew about the illicit payments.
