FIFA panel lifts one-year ban on Qatari official Saoud Al Mohannadi
In a news that will come as a huge relief to local officials, Qatari and Asian football official Saoud Al Mohannadi won an appeal against a one-year ban that prevented him from standing for a place on the FIFA Council.
FIFA’s ethics watchdog banned Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Qatar Football Association (QFA) vice-president Al Mohannadi in November for failing to cooperate as a witness in an investigation, reported Reuters.
He had previously been disqualified from standing for a place on the FIFA Council while the matter was investigated.
But FIFA’s Appeal Committee said in a statement that there was insufficient evidence to establish that Al Mohannadi had violated the code of ethics. It also lifted a 20,000 Swiss franc ($19,930.24) fine levied against him.
“The FIFA Appeal Committee, chaired by Larry Mussenden (Bermuda), has upheld the appeal lodged by Mr Saoud Al-Mohannadi against the decision taken by the adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee, lifting the sanctions imposed on him as a result,” the FIFA statement on its official website read.
“Following a hearing which took place in Zurich on 28 March 2017, the Appeal Committee has set aside the decision taken by the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee on 15 November 2016, which had found Mr Al Mohannadi guilty of infringing articles 18 (Duty of disclosure, cooperation and reporting) and 42 (General obligation to collaborate) of the FIFA Code of Ethics (FCE).
“The Appeal Committee considered that the evidence available was not sufficient to establish to the appropriate standard, i.e. to the comfortable satisfaction of the members of the Appeal Committee, that Mr Al Mohannadi had acted in violation of the FCE. Therefore, the one-year ban imposed by the adjudicatory chamber on Mr Al Mohannadi, which entered into force on 16 November 2016, and the fine of CHF 20,000 have been lifted,” read the statement.
Al Mohannadi’s disqualification in September had led delegates to cancel an extraordinary AFC Congress which had been called to choose Asian places on the FIFA Council. The agenda was voted down after just 27 minutes of the Congress in Goa.
The Qatar Football Association had also stood steadfastly behind its official and it is a stand that has now been vindicated.
