Bin Hammam makes new CAS appeal

Mohamed Bin Hammam, the ex-Asian football chief suspended by FIFA, has lodged a fresh appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), he told AFP on Monday. “My lawyers and myself are appealing to CAS,” the 63-year-old Qatari confirmed. Bin Hammam has been suspended from football activities for more than a year after FIFA’s ethics committee found him guilty of bribery during his election campaign to replace the world body’s president, Sepp Blatter. The bribery case was seen as shedding a light on murky practices inside FIFA, and prompted new questions about Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup, in which bin Hammam played a key role. The bid, alongside others, is now under investigation. Bin Hammam maintains he is innocent of the charges. In July his lifetime ban from football was overturned by CAS on grounds of insufficient evidence with the proviso that the case could be reopened if fresh evidence came to light. Bin Hammam officially lodged his appeal to CAS on October 5. The Qatari multi-millionaire remains provisionally suspended by both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (of which he was president) pending investigations into the Asian body’s financial dealings.