Manilal disappointed, to clear his name over FIFA ban

Thursday, 2 May 2013 00:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

FIFA Executive Committee member Manilal Fernando yesterday vowed to clear his name over allegations and the subsequent eight-year ban slapped on him by the world’s soccer governing body.

Issuing a statement, Fernando said he was naturally disappointed with the decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee.

At this point he has been given no reasons for the decision, but merely informed that some provisions of the Ethics Code have been breached.

Fernando has consulted with his Legal Team and is confident that he will clear his name.

“He is prepared to take this matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which is an Arbitral Tribunal, which is independent of FIFA,” the statement added.

As published by the Daily FT yesterday, a Reuters report said Fernando was banned for eight years for unethical behaviour following a two-day hearing of the FIFA Ethics Committee Adjudicatory Chamber, chaired by Hans-Joachim Eckert.

“He was found guilty of several breaches of the FIFA code of ethics,” FIFA said in a statement.

Fernando joined the Executive Committee in 2011 at the same congress in which President Sepp Blatter was re-elected for a fourth mandate and pledged to clean up FIFA.

Fernando was provisionally banned in March while Michael Garcia, Head of the Ethics Committee’s Investigative Chamber, examined an alleged misuse of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) funds, a source close to FIFA said at the time.

Fernando was a close ally of former FIFA Executive Committee member and AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam.

Bin Hammam was banned from football for life by FIFA following his involvement in the 2011 bribery scandal when he was standing against Blatter for president.