ZURICH: FIFA has imposed a new 90-day ban on Mohamed Bin Hammam who, only last week, succeeded in having a lifetime suspension from football overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport writes KEIR RADNDGE.

While Sepp Blatter, the  world federation’s president and Bin Hammam’s friend-turned-rival, watched Olympic football in the English summer sun so his new disciplinary investigator was directing another form of heat at the 63-year-old Qatari.

Earlier this month FIFA confirmed the creation of its new ethics set-up and the apppointments of American Michael Garcia to head the investigatory chamber and Hans-Joachim Eckert as chief judge. Almost immediately came a first challenge when Bin Hammam won his CAS appeal ovr the FIFA ban imposed last year following the 2011 presidential campaign scandal.

Simultaneously the Asian confederation banned Bin Hammam for a ‘protective’ 31 days as a result of a PriceWaterhouseCoopers audit which accused him spending vast sums drawn from AFC funds on family and friends.

FIFA extended that 31-day ban worldwide and Garcia has now followed up by, in effect, claiming three months’ ‘thinking time.’

A statement from FIFA said:  “At the request of Michel J. Garcia (chairman of the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee), Hans-Joachim Eckert (chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee) today provisionally banned Mohamed bin Hammam from taking part in any kind of football-related activity at national and international level for a period of a maximum of 90 days.

“The decision was taken based on art. 83 par. 1 in fine of the FIFACode of Ethics, in order to prevent interference with the establishment of the truth in respect of a preliminary investigation initiated pursuant to article 62 par. 2 of the FIFA Code of Ethics.

“The investigation aims inter alia at assessing the PwC report of 13 July 2012 in respect of potential misconduct on behalf of Mr bin Hammam in the light of the provisions of the FIFA Code of Ethics and at assessing the prospects of collecting further evidence relevant to the recently closed CAS proceedings in the case of Mr Mohamed bin Hammam v/ FIFA as well as at undertaking investigative efforts to this end.”

= = =