FIFA to open new probe into Caribbean meeting

27 Jul, 2011

FIFA are set to open a further investigation into the meeting of Caribbean football officials which resulted in former presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam being banned for life.
Soccer's governing body told Reuters that all Caribbean Football Union (CFU) member associations had been given 48 hours to "provide and report all relevant information in their possession" about the meeting in Port of Spain on May 10-11 where Bin Hammam was alleged to have offered votes for cash.
"allowing this 48 hour period, the ethics committee will be asked to open the necessary ethics proceedings," FIFA told Reuters in an email on Tuesday. "Truthful and complete reporting will be considered in mitigation by the ethics committee when deciding on potential sanctions.
"Any person who has relevant information but does not come forward during this 48 hour period will be subject to the full range of sanctions." The announcement came after ethics committee acting head Petrus Damaseb, who announced Bin Hammam's ban on Saturday, recommended investigations "into conduct of others who attended the meeting of 10-11 May."
CFU officials Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester were given one-year bans for their role in the meeting while former CONCACAF president Jack Warner, also placed under investigation, resigned last month. Under FIFA statutes, this led to the investigation against Warner being dropped and the former FIFA powerbroker presumed innocent. FIFA also rejected Bin Hammam's call to make the evidence against him public. "Mr Bin Hammam is in full possession of all evidence on his case," said FIFA.

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