ZURICH: The poisoned legacy of Mohamed Bin Hammam’s reign over Asian football is still being felt with the suspension for five years of one of his former henchmen writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

Ganbold Buyannemekh, president of the Mongolian football federation, has been punished by ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert for accepting cash from Bin Hamman in a double election scandal.

Bin Hammam, the Qatari former president of the AFC, was banned for life by the world football federation over conflict of interest charges after first a cash-for-votes scandal in the 2011 FIFA presidential election and then a misuse of funds storm within the Asian confederation.

Now the adjudicatory chamber of the FIFA ethics committee, chaired by Bavarian judge Eckert, has punished Buyannemekh “from taking part in any kind of football-related activity at national and international level for a period of five years.”

A statement added: “Mr Buyannemekh solicited and accepted payments [from Mr Mohamed bin Hammam] in the context of the elections for the FIFA executive committee at the AFC Congress in 2009 as well as the FIFA presidential election in 2011.”

Ethics committee statement

The adjudicatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee, chaired by Hans-Joachim Eckert, has decided to ban the President of the Mongolian Football Federation, Ganbold Buyannemekh, from taking part in any kind of football-related activity at national and international level for a period of five years.

Mr Buyannemekh solicited and accepted payments [from Mr Mohamed bin Hammam] in the context of the elections for the FIFA Executive Committee at the AFC Congress in 2009 as well as the FIFA presidential election in 2011.

He was found guilty for violations of art. 13 (General rules of conduct), art. 18 (Duty of disclosure, cooperation and reporting), art. 19 (Conflicts of interest), art. 20 (Offering and accepting gifts and other benefits), art. 21 (Bribery and corruption), and art. 42 (General obligation to collaborate) of the FIFA Code of Ethics.

The ban is effective as from 15 October 2014, the date on which the present decision was notified.

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