These final banns could could make minute any effort by Bin and Jack to lessen any future impact of their officialdom in football (FIFA). What it all means for the rest must obviously be with their local FIFA organisations
Associated Press
GENEVA — FIFA banned six more Caribbean officials on Friday for their part in an alleged bribery plot involving former presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam.
The exiled officials include Patrick John, the former prime minister of Dominica, who was barred from all soccer activity for two years and fined $3,300, FIFA said. Montserrat Football Association president Vincent Cassell was suspended for 60 days by the FIFA ethics committee.
Four other officials received bans of seven to 45 days.
Gordon Derrick of Antigua and Barbuda was reprimanded, clearing him to be a candidate in the upcoming Caribbean Football Union presidential election.
FIFA said it dropped charges against three more officials who resigned. Cases against two others were closed.
The officials were allegedly offered or received $40,000 cash payments during bin Hammam’s campaign visit to Trinidad in May to support the Qatari candidate against FIFA President Sepp Blatter.
Bin Hammam withdrew his election bid after the scandal broke and was later banned for life by FIFA’s ethics panel. He has pledged to challenge the ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
FIFA has banned a total of 11 Caribbean soccer leaders and two CFU staffers in the corruption scandal.
Four more officials have been reprimanded and five received warnings.
Six officials, including Jack Warner, the former FIFA vice president and CFU leader, resigned all their positions in the sport. Warner retained his post as a Trinidad and Tobago government minister.
“Should they return to football official positions, their cases would be examined again by the ethics committee,” FIFA said in a statement.
FIFA has not specified the exact charges faced by the officials sanctioned.
Under FIFA’s code of ethics, officials are not allowed to accept cash gifts and must report suspected corruption.
In other suspensions, Raymond Guishard of Anguilla was banned for 45 days and fined $330. Noel Adonis of Guyana got a 30-day ban and was fined; Tandica Hughes of Montserrat was banned for 15 days but not fined; Everton Gonsalves of Antigua and Barbuda got a one-week ban and fine.
In Friday’s rulings, FIFA said it shelved cases against Oliver Camps, the Trinidad and Tobago soccer president, Lionel Haven of the Bahamas and Patrick Mathurin of St. Lucia after they resigned.
FIFA’s ethics panel, which met over four days this week, cleared Philippe White of Dominica and Damien Hughes of Anguilla of wrongdoing.
